Olio, la Sicilia cerca più valore: la sfida è l’innovazione

In Italy, as of 31st July, there were 233,377 tonnes of olive oil stored in silos, representing a 43.9% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Sicily alone held 15,908 tonnes, with 9,950 of that being extra virgin olive oil. The main producing regions include Puglia with 73,559 tonnes and Calabria with 29,735 tonnes. Recognizing that the Sicilian olive oil industry's current focus goes beyond quantity and quality, a new campaign called L'Isola del Tesolio 2026 has been launched in Mondello, from 10th to 12th September.

The objectives are to integrate and support the sector, innovate and train, and internationalize and develop commercial activities. The transformation process is viewed as the key node in this industrial chain, with Sicily having the third-highest number of active crushes, after Puglia and Calabria. A network of 616 crushes in Sicily is seen as a strength, but also presents challenges in terms of plant size, efficiency, and investment capacity.

The Pnrr has allocated 12.69 million euros to modernize processing, storage, and packaging facilities, and improve their sustainability and efficiency. This funding has been confirmed at approximately 13.5 million euros, with 45 projects already financed. Innovation is not merely about replacing machinery, but also creating a technological hub where quality, processing times, conservation, traceability, energy efficiency, and by-product valorization are managed.

Aggregation is another important aspect, with Cofiol, the Olive Oil Consortium, bringing together six packaging plants, a network of 50 crushes, over 200 agricultural businesses, and more than 5,000 small growers. The organization aims to create critical mass in a fragmented system. Another crucial point is the organic sector, where 33.1% of Sicily's olive groves are cultivated organically, compared to the national average of 29.3%.

This presents an economic challenge as transforming this distinctive feature into a market-differentiating value remains a hurdle. The inauguration of L'Isola del Tesolio 2026 will discuss these issues and more, with regional agriculture minister Luca Sammartino, UniCredit's Regional Manager for Sicily, Salvatore Malandrino, and representatives from the production, distribution, and institutional sectors participating.

Experts and academics from the sector, such as Tiziano Caruso, Agnese Taticchi, and Alessandro Leone, will also contribute to the Pieralisi Day dedicated to technological advancements in crush facilities. Manfredi Barbera, CEO of Manfredi Barbera and Figli S.p.A., emphasizes that the future of Sicilian extra virgin olive oil cannot be built only in the crushes or the groves, but in the ability to create a system, forge relationships, and transform the extraordinary quality of their productions into recognized value in markets and consumer culture.