Tunis - A small cabinet meeting held at the Government Palace in Kasbah on Saturday and chaired by Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, reviewed measures aimed at ensuring a successful 2025–2026 olive oil season, which have already been implemented or are planned in preparation for the season.

According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, the Cabinet approved production-related measures, including working to ensure the availability of necessary labour, providing transportation and, if needed, accommodation during the olive harvest at the level of governorates and regional agricultural directorates.

Among the approved measures also giving priority to small farmers when granting subsidies from the Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Investments to acquire equipment for mechanized harvesting.

Regarding storage, the meeting decided to task the National Olive Oil Office (ONH) with implementing a programme to store between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes of olive oil with sector operators for up to three months, providing a storage subsidy and an additional grant to farmers, and authorising provision of a state guarantee to the ONH for the purchase of olive oil from production, financed by both private and public banks.

In terms of financing, the Tunisian Central Bank will intervene with lending banks to reschedule loans for mill owners who faced significant financial difficulties last season.

Private and public banks are called upon to support small farmers by providing necessary financing throughout the 2025–2026 season, from harvesting and storage to processing, marketing, and export.

Measures also include extending the deadlines for repatriating revenues from export crops, particularly for packaged olive oil destined for distant markets and encouraging the export of packaged olive oil according to target markets.

For domestic promotion and export, the meeting decided to encourage domestic consumption of olive oil by reducing commercial profit margins, tasking the National Olive Oil Office with promoting packaged olive oil at reasonable prices and inviting classified restaurants and hotels to help promote Tunisian packaged olive oil.

Efforts will also focus on increasing exports to traditional markets, developing a communication and promotional strategy to enter new foreign markets, and improving trade agreements with economic partners.

To ensure sector governance, a strategic study will be prepared on the development prospects of the olive oil sector in terms of production, financing, valorisation, and export, along with a plan to restructure the National Olive Oil Office.

At the start of the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to ensure smooth operations throughout all stages of the season, from harvesting and storage to processing, marketing, and export, stressing the importance of maintaining quality and increasing exports, particularly of packaged oil, while putting all appropriate mechanisms in place and giving special attention to domestic consumption and price rationalisation.

She also highlighted that, following the directives of President Kais Saied, the state is working to further support small farmers, particularly in milling and storage, and to simplify access to subsidised loans.

Efforts are also being made to expand olive oil exports to new markets such as Latin America and Asia, and to encourage domestic packaging to ensure the origin of the product is clearly recognised.

Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fisheries, Ezzeddine Ben Cheikh, presented an overview of key preparations for the 2025–2026 olive oil season, beginning with a review of last season’s record production.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, Mohamed Ali Nafti, presented the ministry’s action plan to strengthen Tunisia’s presence in traditional markets while increasing exports by entering new and promising markets.

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