Product

Olive oil from Türkiye: what to specify when you source it

Lotvela · Gaziantep · Checked 27 October 2026 · Reviewed by Ömer Faruk Erdoğan

To source olive oil from Türkiye, state the category (usually extra virgin), the standard you test against (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 or the IOC trade standard), limits for free acidity, peroxide value, K232, K270 and ΔK, and a panel test with no defects. Add the variety, region, crop year and pack. Olive oil is an agricultural product under HS heading 1509, so EU preferential treatment needs a EUR.1 or an origin declaration, not an A.TR.

Regions and varieties

TÜİK figures for 2021, cited by the Ministry of Agriculture, put about 58 % of olives grown for oil in the Aegean region and 22.5 % in the Mediterranean. The Ministry's production regions:

Marmara: mainly Gemlik, grown chiefly for table olives.
North Aegean Gulf (Edremit, Ayvalık and nearby): mainly Ayvalık and Gemlik, mostly for oil.
South Aegean (Aydın, Muğla, southern İzmir): mostly oil, from Memecik and Gemlik.
Mediterranean and South-east (Antalya to Hatay, Kilis, Gaziantep and Mardin): mostly oil, from Gemlik, Ayvalık, Halhalı, Kilis Yağlık, Nizip Yağlık and other local varieties.

The Ministry calls Ayvalık oil medium fruity; Aydın Memecik oil is specified as intensely fruity, bitter and pungent. Nizip Zeytinyağı uses Nizip Yağlık olives with at least 25 % oil.

Registered geographical indications

Türk Patent registers names as a designation of origin (menşe adı) or a geographical indication (mahreç işareti), each fixing the area, variety, method and inspection.

Name	Area; variety	Türk Patent type, no., year
Ayvalık Zeytinyağı	Ayvalık, Balıkesir; Ayvalık	Origin no. 88, 2007
Edremit Zeytinyağı	Edremit Gulf, Balıkesir; Ayvalık	Origin no. 273, 2017
Milas Zeytinyağı	Milas, Muğla; Memecik	Origin no. 201, 2016
Aydın Memecik Zeytinyağı	Aydın province; Memecik	Origin no. 535, 2020
Nizip Zeytinyağı	Gaziantep province; Nizip Yağlık	Indication no. 158, 2012
Kilis Zeytinyağı	Kilis province; Kilis Yağlık	Indication no. 1021, 2022
Altınözü Zeytinyağı	Altınözü, Hatay; Halhalı and three local varieties	Indication no. 1486, 2023

The EU has registered these Turkish olive oils as PDOs: Milas Zeytinyağı (2020), Edremit Zeytinyağı (2023), Aydın Memecik Zeytinyağı (2024) and Mut Zeytinyağı from Mersin (2025). Check eAmbrosia for later entries. Edremit Körfezi Yeşil Çizik Zeytini is a table olive.

Production

The International Olive Council (IOC) puts Türkiye's olive oil production for the 2024/25 crop year at 505,000 tonnes, up 135 % on the year before (provisional, January 2026). Output swings because the trees bear alternately, so state the crop year and agree what happens if your grade is short.

Quality categories and parameters

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 defines extra virgin, virgin and lampante olive oil (above 2.0 % acidity, for refining), refined olive oil, "olive oil" composed of refined and virgin oils, and olive-pomace oil. The IOC trade standard (COI/T.15/NC No 3/Rev. 22, June 2026) sets the same limits below, adds "ordinary virgin" up to 3.3 % acidity, and leaves K232 optional between trading partners.

Parameter	Extra virgin	Virgin
Free acidity (% oleic acid)	≤ 0.80	≤ 2.0
Peroxide value (meq O₂/kg)	≤ 20.0	≤ 20.0
K232	≤ 2.50	≤ 2.60
K268 or K270	≤ 0.22	≤ 0.25
ΔK	≤ 0.01	≤ 0.01
Median of defects (panel)	0.0	Above 0, up to 3.5
Median of fruitiness (panel)	Above 0.0	Above 0.0
Fatty acid ethyl esters (mg/kg)	≤ 35	Not set

Refined olive oil allows 0.30 % acidity and a peroxide value of 5.0; the refined-and-virgin blend and olive-pomace oil allow 1.00 % and 15.0. One failed parameter moves the oil to another category. Panels use the IOC method (COI/T.20/Doc. No 15). Also require the purity criteria, such as fatty acids and sterols.

Origin labelling in the EU

Extra virgin and virgin olive oil must state their origin; the refined-and-virgin blend and olive-pomace oil must not.
Oil from olives harvested and milled in Türkiye names Türkiye, or a registered PDO or PGI. Blends with EU oil read "blend of olive oils of European Union origin and not of European Union origin".
Olives harvested and milled in different countries: "(extra) virgin olive oil obtained in (country) from olives harvested in (country)".
A harvest year needs all the oil from that harvest. Labels must say to store the oil away from light and heat.
Stating acidity means also stating peroxide, wax and UV values. "Cold extraction" requires, among other conditions, extraction below 27 °C.

Harvest season

Registered specifications set the harvest from mid-October to the end of February in Edremit, November to early February in Nizip, and November to December in Altınözü. Early-harvest Ayvalık oil is more bitter and pungent. Ayvalık olives are milled the same day; Nizip olives within 36 hours of reaching the mill.

HS code and proof of origin

Under HS 2022, heading 1509 splits into 1509.20 extra virgin, 1509.30 virgin, 1509.40 other virgin and 1509.90 other olive oil. Solvent-extracted oil, including olive-pomace oil, is heading 1510.

Olive oil is an agricultural product: Annex I to the TFEU lists fixed vegetable oils (heading 15.07 of the older Brussels Nomenclature). Annex I goods are outside the EU–Türkiye customs union, so olive oil needs a EUR.1 or an origin declaration, not an A.TR. See our export documents guide.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2008/97 reduces the EU duty on olive oil wholly obtained in Türkiye and transported directly: by 10 % for virgin and crude pomace oil, 5 % for refined grades. It is not an exemption, and its text uses pre-2022 CN codes, so check TARIC for the current measure and any tariff quota.

Packaging and storage

The IOC standard allows bulk tanks, varnished metal drums, new varnished tins, and glass or suitable plastic bottles, filled to at least 90 %, or 80 % for small tins. For bulk, state whether you accept flexitanks, IBCs or drums. EU retail packs hold at most 5 litres, with an opening that cannot be resealed.

Specifications guard against heat and air: Ayvalık oil is kept in closed stainless-steel tanks at no more than 25 °C, and Nizip oil under inert gas or floating lids. For your own brand, see our private-label guide.

Questions buyers ask

Is Turkish extra virgin olive oil graded the same way as EU oil?

On the EU market, yes. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 applies to all olive oil, whatever its origin. Elsewhere, agree the IOC standard or follow local rules. Either way, name the standard and its version, where samples are taken, and which laboratory and panel test them.

Can I label Turkish oil bottled in the EU as Turkish?

Yes, if the olives were harvested and the oil extracted in Türkiye. Blended with EU oil, it becomes a "blend of olive oils of European Union origin and not of European Union origin". A registered name such as Edremit Zeytinyağı needs oil that meets its specification.

Do I need an A.TR or a EUR.1 for olive oil?

A EUR.1 or an origin declaration. Olive oil is an agricultural product outside the EU–Türkiye customs union, so the A.TR does not apply. The duty reduction under Regulation (EC) No 2008/97 also needs oil wholly obtained in Türkiye and transported directly. Check TARIC for your code.

Can I buy Turkish olive oil in bulk?

Check current Turkish export rules first: the Ministry of Trade restricted bulk and barrelled exports in August 2023, and such measures change, so ask the producer what applies now. Then state the container (flexitank, IBC or drum), the analysis you need at loading, and whether you will bottle at destination, which decides the origin wording.

What to put in your brief

Item	What to state
Category	Extra virgin, virgin, refined, olive oil (blend) or olive-pomace oil
Standard	EU 2022/2104, IOC or local rules, with the version
Limits and testing	Acidity, peroxide value, K232, K270, ΔK, ethyl esters, purity; laboratory, panel and sampling point
Origin and crop	Variety, province, any GI or PDO name, crop year, early or ripe harvest
Pack	Bulk container, or tins, glass or PET with sizes
Labelling	Origin wording, harvest year and any claims
Delivery	Volume, schedule, Incoterm and destination
Documents	EUR.1 or origin declaration, and analysis certificates

For the wider steps, read our guide to sourcing food from Türkiye.

Sending a brief to Lotvela

Lotvela is a sourcing intermediary in Gaziantep. Send a brief and we approach producers that may fit, check product fit, a free production window, export record and documents, and send a dated shortlist with every claim marked confirmed or not confirmed. It is free for buyers: the producer pays a commission at the same rate for every producer, invoices and ships, and money never passes through Lotvela.