Il Ismea-Qualivita 2025 Report – which captures the trend of certified production (DOP, IGP) highlights a positive evolution in the olive oil sector. In 2024, DOP and IGP production reached 16.190 tons, with an increase ofl 31,1% compared to the previous year, while the production value rises to 194 million euros (+46,9%). They also grow the consumer value, which reaches 258 million euros (+47,8%), and export value, equal to 102 million euros (+25,3%).
These results confirm the vitality of a sector that, despite representing a minority segment of the PDO economy, shows a capacity for growth and is consistent with the growing demand for quality and guaranteed origin.
Il Alberto Amoroso, president of AIFO, the Italian Association of Olive Oil Millers, underlines the strategic importance of these numbers: The ISMEA-Qualivita Report demonstrates that the PDO economy continues to grow and that, within this process, certified olive oil is a growing segment. This represents a huge opportunity for our entire sector. However, we cannot ignore a fundamental fact: only 3-4% of the olive oil marketed today reaches consumers with a PDO or PGI designation. If we want to guarantee quality and traceability to buyers and ensure fair compensation for olive growers and millers, this percentage must increase significantly.
Amoroso also highlights how the current system of oil denominations is not structured like that of cheeses or wines, which are in fact among the best-performing sectors of the PDO Economy and enjoy more solid organizational models and more effective governance. According to the president, this is the time to start a profound and necessary reform: amend the decree recognizing the DOP and IGP olive oil, adopt management models similar to those already tested in wine and cheese and truly use the denominations as valuable tools, and not as mere bureaucratic obligations.
“If we intervene on these three fronts – Amoroso continues – The effects would be immediate: stronger and more transparent traceability, more effective protection of the territory and production, more equitable redistribution of income along the supply chain, and a much greater ability to promote our oils on foreign markets. The sector can no longer afford to underutilize such significant potential. Reforming the designations means unlocking value, strengthening competitiveness, and finally giving Italian oil the role it deserves in the PDO economy.
Within the supply chain's activities, the collaboration with Italia Olivicola, within the Operational Programme funded by the European regulation, continues to represent a fundamental space for coordination and strengthening shared strategies for quality, certified traceability, and the valorization of national olive oil production.
