Harvest 2026/27: Where Does the Season Stand for High-Polyphenol Olive Oil?

A field report from the Mediterranean – by Jaime, The Olive Explorer · As of 12 October 2026

Mid-October is the most exciting time of the year for us olive explorers. The groves are still full of green, firm fruit, and right now producers are deciding who harvests early and presses the most polyphenol-rich oils of the year. Here is my overview of where the 2026/27 season stands.

The summer: heat takes centre stage

This year, the weather has shaped the harvest more than anything else. Between June and August, repeated heatwaves hit the main growing regions of Spain, Greece and Türkiye – exactly when the fruit reaches its final size. Prolonged heat during pit hardening and early oil accumulation makes olives smaller and lowers their oil content, even where trees carry a heavy crop.

For polyphenol lovers, this isn’t only bad news: in my experience, smaller fruit and drought stress often go hand in hand with more concentrated bitter and pungent compounds. Whether that shows up in the lab results, though, we will only know once the first analyses come in.

Spain: a big harvest, low prices

On 1 October, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture put the country’s 2026/27 output at 1,602,596 tonnes, 23% more than the previous season. Andalusia alone expects 1,261,200 tonnes, with Jaén at 575,000 tonnes (+47.8%) and Córdoba at 339,700 tonnes (+37.6%). The Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Aragón, on the other hand, expect less than last year.

Notably, if too much oil reaches the market, Spain could temporarily withdraw volumes to stabilise prices. The ministry plans to decide in the first half of November – a tool that has never been used before. The figures aren’t final yet: regional governments can revise their estimates until the end of October.

Italy: less oil, but good quality prospects

Italy looks very different. According to estimates by ItaliaOggi and TeatroNaturale, Italian production will fall by 25% to around 260,000 tonnes, with declines of about 30% in Puglia and Sicily and 40% in Calabria. The harvest has already begun in Puglia, but the picture is mixed: Coldiretti Puglia expects drops of around 40% in Foggia and Taranto, more than 40% in Brindisi, 30% on the Gargano and 20% in Bari and BAT.

And now the good news for all Coratina fans: this year, the heat largely kept the olive fruit fly away, and the main concern is drought in non-irrigated groves. Fruit fly damage is one of the biggest enemies of high polyphenols and low acidity, so healthy fruit is a good starting point.

Greece: more oil, first early harvest already sold

The Greek sector expects around 300,000 tonnes, up from roughly 232,000 last season. And the early harvest is already underway: a cooperative in Laconia sold the season’s first early-harvest extra virgin at €5.95/kg, while old-crop oil traded at €3.20 to €3.75/kg. That premium clearly shows how highly green, early-harvest oils are valued.

Not everything went well: on Chalkidiki, growers expect a below-average harvest because of drought, and wildfires in late July and early August damaged groves on Crete, in Attica and on Chalkidiki. For me, whose journey began on Crete, that is especially painful.

Tunisia and Türkiye

In Tunisia, the president of the national olive producers’ chamber expects about 300,000 tonnes, down from 500,000 tonnes in 2025/26. For Türkiye, the national olive council UZZK has not yet published an estimate. Summer temperatures in the main growing regions there reached 35–38 °C, with almost no rain from June to August.

So where are we in the season?

In short: at the start of the early harvest. These weeks are the window for the most polyphenol-rich oils. On Crete, for example, early-harvest oils from October and November are greener, more pungent and richer in polyphenols, while late-harvest oils from December onward are milder and more golden. In Greece, the harvest usually runs from late October to February.

The price of an early harvest is quantity. In a Turkish study under industrial conditions, the oil yield was 11.4% for the early harvest versus 13.7% for the normal harvest; in return, the early-harvest oil scored higher for green fruitiness, bitterness and pungency. Interestingly, in the same study the later-harvested oil actually contained more biophenols – a reminder that cultivar, location and processing matter just as much as the harvest date. That’s why our rule stays the same: don’t trust a label without a lab analysis.

My roadmap for the coming weeks

October/November: The first early-harvest oils are being pressed. If you buy now, look for “harvest 2026/27” and a specific harvest date.
November/December: The first polyphenol analyses arrive. Only then will we know whether the heat pushed values up.
December/January: The new oils reach shops across Europe. My tip: finish your old-harvest oils now, because polyphenols decline over time.

A rule of thumb for “high polyphenol”: under EU Regulation 432/2012, an olive oil may only claim to protect blood lipids from oxidative stress if it contains at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g of oil – roughly 250 mg per kilogram.

I’ll be on the road again in the coming weeks and will report back from the first pressings. Subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss the new discoveries!

Jaime Dieppa, The Olive Explorer

Sources

All figures are estimates as of 12 October 2026 and may change during the season.