Italian olive oil sector faces crisis as prices tumble and inventories swell

Confagricoltura Bari‑BAT held an assembly in Bari to renew its leadership and address the sector’s most pressing challenges. President Massimiliano Del Core warned that olive oil stocks have more than doubled to over 133,000 tonnes, while export prices have fallen by up to 50 % since the harvest, creating an unprecedented financial strain for producers and processors.

At the same time, the National Convention of the Cities of Oil gathered in Corigliano Rossano, Calabria, where regional officials and olive‑oil industry leaders signed a strategic charter to guide policy and development for the next four years. The document aims to balance modernisation with quality, biodiversity and the interests of small‑ to medium‑size farms across Italy’s olive‑growing regions.