Olive Oil Harvest 2025/26: Season Review

The 2025/26 harvest season brought a much-needed volume recovery to Mediterranean olive oil markets after two consecutive seasons of well-below-average production. However, the recovery was uneven across regions, and total output remained below the 10-year average.

Season Timeline

Harvest began in early October 2025 in the earliest-ripening zones of Tunisia and southern Spain, with the main Iberian harvest running from November through January 2026. Greek and Italian harvests largely concluded by December 2025.

Quality Assessment

Quality in the 2025/26 season was generally good to excellent. The combination of adequate winter rainfall and a relatively cool, dry autumn created favourable conditions for polyphenol development. Early-harvest oils from Portugal and Spain showed particularly high polyphenol counts, with some Alentejo and Trás-os-Montes producers reporting values above 500 mg/kg.

Regional Highlights

Andalusia (Spain): Strong recovery in Jaén province, the world's most productive olive oil region, with yields 60–70% above 2024/25. Cordoba and Sevilla also recovered well.

Alentejo (Portugal): Solid season in the intensive and super-intensive groves; smaller traditional producers in Trás-os-Montes faced mixed results depending on spring rainfall patterns.

Crete (Greece): Excellent season for Koroneiki variety; above-average volumes with strong quality.

Puglia (Italy): Partial recovery from xylella fastidiosa damage; volumes improved but still constrained by ongoing tree losses in affected zones.

Impact on Prices

The harvest recovery began exerting downward pressure on bulk prices from December 2025 onwards, with EVOO origin prices declining 10–15% from the peaks of mid-2025. However, prices remain well above pre-2023 levels due to continued tight inventory positions.