Morocco Multiplies Olive Oil Exports to Spain Amid Surging Demand
- Spain multiplied its purchases of Moroccan olive oil significantly between January and April 2026.
- The economic value of these olive oil purchases rose from 340,000 euros to millions of euros over the same quadrimestre.
- Despite the rapid growth, Moroccan oil still represents a minor fraction of the Spanish market.
Spain multiplied its purchases of Moroccan olive oil significantly between January and April 2026. Import figures hit 10,384.7 tonnes, a steep climb from just 103 tonnes during the same period in 2025, according to data from DataComex cited by Euronews. While the 9,979 percent increase appears dramatic, analysts note it stems from an exceptionally low baseline.
Spain’s Surge in Moroccan Imports
Value and Market Share Realities
The economic value of these olive oil purchases rose from 340,000 euros to millions of euros over the same quadrimestre. This represents a 9,535 percent increase according to DataComex figures reported by Euronews.
Despite the rapid growth, Moroccan oil still represents a minor fraction of the Spanish market. Data through February 2026 shows Morocco supplied 7.48 percent of Spanish olive oil imports, up from 2.01 percent a year prior.
Domestic Production Pressures
Spain’s domestic production for the 2025–2026 campaign sits at approximately 1.295 million tonnes, according to data cited by Euronews. This total dwarfs the roughly 10,000 tonnes imported from Morocco during the first four months of the year.
Even so, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture calculates a 9 percent drop in domestic production compared to the previous campaign. That shortfall contributed directly to an increased reliance on foreign markets.
Drought Recovery and EU Trade Terms
The Federation Interprofessionnelle Marocaine de l’Olive estimated Morocco’s national production at nearly 200,000 tonnes for the 2025–2026 season. This output is more than double the previous year following the recovery of olive groves from prolonged drought.
Lower prices, supported by preferential trade conditions granted by the European Union, further facilitated the export surge. Across the broader European Union, purchases of Moroccan olive oil grew by 712.6 percent between October 2025 and March 2026. However, Tunisia remains the primary non-EU supplier, accounting for 81 percent of those imports, according to Euronews.
Reversed Bilateral Trade Balance
The trade dynamic between Spain and Morocco has shifted as a result. Spain sold 2,721 tonnes of olive oil to Morocco between January and April 2025, but that volume fell to 673.72 tonnes during the same months in 2026, marking a 75.2 percent decline.
In financial terms, Spanish exports dropped from millions of euros to millions of euros. This is a decrease of nearly 78 percent, reversing the bilateral trade balance in this sector entirely.
Expanding Greenhouse Vegetable Supply
In addition to olive oil, Morocco supplied 205,777 tonnes of greenhouse vegetables to Spain. This volume accounts for 54 percent of Spain’s imports in that category, according to reports from parliament.com.
Within those vegetable shipments, pepper exports experienced an 18.8 percent jump, reaching 102,951 tonnes.