2016 | Turkish EVOO

The European Union (EU) is the largest producer (accounting almost three quarters) and consumer (accounting two thirds) of the olive oil in the world. Olive growing is a feature of sociocultural life in many Mediterranean regions. Olive trees are grown in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Cyprus, Slovenia and Malta. About 95% of the olive production in the EU is concentrated in Spain, Italy and Greece. Edible olives are exported to 65 countries on average, including pre-eminently Romania, Bulgaria, USA, Germany, Iraq.


Turkish Olive Oil Industry is the second largest olive cultivator in the world and is also is among the top five countries in olive oil production. Turkey is one of the producing countries that have embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign in the Asian region for the promotion of its unique olive oil.
170 million olive trees,
220.000 metric tons olive oil production in “on years”
450.000 metric tons table olive production in “on years”
400.000 Turkish families work in olive and olive oil production
More than 500 continuous olive oil extraction mills
Sufficient refinery and retail packing plants using the most modern Technologies,
State and private laboratories for the quality controls, which assure consistency with the international standards
Table olives exports: 72 thousand metric tons per annum
Olive oil exports: 20 thousand metric tons per annum (in “on” years)
Today, Turkey exports olive oil to the more than 90 countries such as USA, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, U.A.E. and very few countries are left that have not experienced the excellent taste and fragrance of Turkish olive oil.

Mavi Boncuk |

Report 2016

Turkey[1] won 19 awards in 8 contest That participated during 2016, earning 788.75 points for EVOO World Ranking 2016.

Obtaining 1 EVOO of the Year (It takes more than 160 points to get this distinction.).

The Best Society for EVOOWR 2016 of Turkey is Gidatay Gida Ve Tarim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. with 5 awards in 3 contest, reaching the score of 188.50 points.

The Best EVOO for EVOOWR 2016 of Turkey is Tuay Olive Oil from Turgut Anadolu Yatirim (Tuay) Ltd. with 3 awards in 3 contest, reaching the score of 172.75 p

[1] RANKING OF EVOO´S OF TURKEY 2016

# Society                                        EVOO           Variety Awards Points
1 Turgut Anadolu Yatirim (Tuay) Ltd. Tuay Olive Oil Memecik 3 172.75
2 Meray Zeytincilik Tarim Gida San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. Olamea Memecik 2 100.75
3 Selatin EVOO Selatin Earley Harvest - Cold Press Edremit Yaglik 2 84.50
4 Gidatay Gida Ve Tarim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. Attika Ayvalik Edremit Yaglik 2 81.25
5 Gidatay Gida Ve Tarim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. Attika Memecik Memecik 2 74.75
6 Laleli Olive Oils Biyolojik Bilimler Arastirma Gelistirme Ve Uretim Laleli Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blend 1 48.75
7 Laleli Olive Oils Biyolojik Bilimler Arastirma Gelistirme Ve Uretim Laleli Flavored Laurel Condimento-Flavored Olive Oil 1 37.50
8 Silisya Naturel Zeytinyagi Silisya Gurme Blend 1 32.50
9 Anfo Madencilik Patlayici Madde Mak. Tar. Nak. San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. Yava Memecik 1 32.50
10 Gidatay Gida Ve Tarim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. Savrandere Blend 1 32.50
11 Oliva Food Industry And Trade Ltd. Co. Seroliva Blend 1 32.50
12 Oliva Food Industry And Trade Ltd. Co. Seroliva / Elixir Organic Blend 1 32.50
13 Yudum Gida San.ve Tic A.S Yudum Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blend 1 26.00

Table olive production in Turkey
Turkey, playing an important role in world table olive production, processes 70% of its
production for olive oil production while leaving the rest 30% for table olive processing. 85% of
the olives are processed as black table olives and the rest 15% is processed as green table
olives. Table olives are a culturally important part of Turkish style breakfast. Despite the
increase in the production of Spanish style green and olives darkened by oxidation. Turkish
consumer preferences are still in favor of natural green and black olives.
1. Natural black olive production

Olives, harvested when the flesh of the fruit turns purple 2 mm deep to the stone, are
transferred to the processing facility. After size-grading and sorting, the olives are widely put in
concrete pools or polyethylene, polyester or fiberglass tanks. Certain amount of pressure -20-
25% of the original weight of the olives- is applied on the olives and they are put in brine. The
goal of this application is to attain the shape that is called "yanaklı" which is specially preferred
by the consumer.

Brine salt concentration is around 10-12% and this ration can be around 14-15% at times. The
high salt content may slow down the fermentation process and it may take 6 to 10 months.
During the fermentation, circulating the brine, salt and pH controls are done. The bitterness
does not disappear completely from final product and residual reducing sugars may also remain
at a high level after fermentation period which may cause secondary fermentation during the
preservation of the olives. After fermentation, the olives are packed, with or without brine, for the market, according to the preference.

The olives produced by traditional methods are consumed locally or exported to ethnic markets
because of high salt concentration. The disadvantages of this production method are the stock
cost due to the long fermentation period, the loss of weight around 20% and the lack of
exportability except ethnic markets (Fındık, 2011).

The aerated fermentation has been widely used to speed up the fermentation process,
shortening the fermentation period. Through this, the fermentation period takes around 5
months.

Lately, natural black olives with low salt content has become popular in Turkish markets,
gaining the appreciation of Turkish consumers who especially want to consume diet products.
Besides black olive processing, dehydrated in dry salt, without brine is also popular. Most widely
consumed variety is Gemlik, yet Edremit (Ayvalık), Memecik and Uslu varieties are also
widespread.

2. Natural green olive production
Scratched and cracked green olives are highly appreciated by the Turkish consumers. Edremit
(Ayvalık) variety is widely preferred for scratched green olives. It can be processed whether pink or green. Domat, Memecik and Yamalak varieties are considered to be processed as scratched  Options Méditerranéennes, A, no. 106, 2013 74 as well. Soon after the olives are transported to the plant, they are size-graded, sorted and scratched on 2 or 3 sides and put into water. The water is changed every other day to obtain the deserved taste.

The olives transferred to the fermentation tanks. The brine’s salt ratio is increased progressively
and reaches to 5-6%. After the fermentation, the olives, being ready for consumption, are
packed. Although, cracked olives are highly preferred by the Turkish customers, they find
limited place in the market due to the short shelf life. The production method for cracked olives
is the same as scratched ones, yet the olive is cracked instead of being scratched. Because of
the possible storage problems, the product is processed as Spanish style green olives and then
cracked to be packed. 

Fındık M., 2011. Doğal Fermente Zeytin Nedir ve Nasıl Üretilir. 2. Zeytinyağı ve Sofralık Zeytin Sempozyumu, Yaşar Üniversitesi, İzmir

Tunalıoğlu R., 2003. Sofralık Zeytin. In: T.E.A.E. Bakış. 4,ISSN: 1303-8346, Ankara. 

oints.