Olive oil feria 2026: Spain’s liquid gold moment

There are ingredients you buy. And then there are ingredients you live with. For me, extra virgin olive oil is closer to a daily ritual than a cooking fat: in the pan, in salads, over tomatoes, on toasted bread, in stews, even as the quiet finishing touch that makes leftovers feel intentional.

So when olive oil feria 2026

arrives on the calendar, it doesn’t feel like a niche farmers’ event. It feels like Spain taking stock of something intimate: a staple that connects the countryside to every kitchen.

Today that connection is especially visible in Catalonia, where two olive oil fairs anchor the start of the year. Les Borges Blanques (in Les Garrigues, Lleida) hosts the 29th Fira de l’Oli d’Oliva Verge Extra de Catalunya, running from 16–18 January. Meanwhile, Espolla (Alt Empordà, Girona) marks its own Fira de l’Oli i l’Olivera

on 18 January, a one-day celebration that blends market stalls, food culture and small-town energy.

Across Spain, these winter fairs do two jobs at once: they sell oil, yes—but they also explain it. They translate what’s been happening in groves and cooperatives into choices you make at the supermarket shelf.

What the fairs are really selling: confidence

If you only encounter olive oil in a plastic bottle near the tills, it’s easy to miss the complexity behind it. But producers have been operating in a period defined by weather stress, shifting yields, and intense price sensitivity—especially after recent years of volatility.

Spain’s agriculture ministry estimated national olive oil production for the 2025/26 campaign at around 1.37 million tonnes, with Andalucia still representing the bulk of output. That headline number matters because it shapes everything downstream: availability, pricing, exports, and the pressure on farmers to produce quality oil while managing costs.

And quality remains a central selling point at these fairs—particularly when rainfall patterns disrupt harvest timing and yields. Recent local reporting from Jaén’s olive sector described delayed harvesting due to rain, lower extraction yields in some areas, but strong emphasis on oil quality and the economic importance of extra virgin pricing.

The fairs, in other words, become a public-facing checkpoint. They allow cooperatives and producers to show that the year’s oil is not just “available”, but worth trusting.

Andalucia leads global olive oil awards at Expoliva 2025

Why this matters for farmers, and not just foodies

For many growers, fairs are not a nice-to-have. They are a sales channel, a reputation mechanism, and—especially for smaller producers—a way to avoid being swallowed by anonymous commodity pricing.

At Les Borges Blanques, that’s particularly visible through the emphasis on recognised quality frameworks and awards, including prizes for the best extra virgin olive oils presented during the fair. In the region, the DOP/PDO identity is also part of the pitch: Les Garrigues, for instance, is closely associated with Arbequina extra virgin, marketed for its distinctive aromatics and balance.

For farmers, the logic is simple:

• Premium recognition supports premium pricing.

• Premium pricing supports viable farms.

• Viable farms keep rural economies alive.

And that viability is not abstract. Spain’s ministry has also pointed to a more stable pricing environment compared with previous years, while still acknowledging how sensitive the sector remains to supply swings and market expectations.

Exports: the global appetite that helps (and sometimes complicates) life at home

Spain doesn’t just feed itself with olive oil. It feeds a large part of the world’s olive oil demand—and that export machine is central to why so many producers treat fairs as international shop windows.

A clear example: Spain’s export performance to the United States. ICEX notes that in 2024, Spanish companies exported olive oil to the US worth more than €1 billion, making it one of the most strategic global markets for Spanish olive oil.

At the regional level, export figures underline how dominant olive oil is within Spain’s wider food economy. Reporting on Andalucia’s record agri-food exports highlighted olive oil as the top export product, with record value in 2024.

For consumers living in Spain, the export story cuts both ways:

• It supports producers and keeps the sector internationally competitive.

• It can also tighten domestic supply during certain periods, influencing retail pricing and product availability.

That’s one reason why fairs matter even if you never plan to attend: they shape the narrative of value—why a good bottle costs what it costs, and what you’re actually paying for.

The oils people confuse—and the labels that matter

One of the most useful things an olive oil fair does is clarify categories that are often muddled in everyday shopping.

Here is the practical distinction, grounded in internationally recognised standards:

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO / AOVE)

The highest category: mechanically produced, with strict quality and sensory requirements. The International Olive Council standard sets free acidity at no more than 0.8g per 100g for extra virgin.

Best for:

drizzling, salads, finishing, and everyday cooking when you want flavour.

Virgin olive oil

Also mechanically produced, but with more tolerance for minor defects and higher acidity than extra virgin (IOC standard sets virgin at up to 2g per 100g free acidity).

Best for:

general cooking, where you still want a natural olive profile at a lower price point.

Lampante

A lower-quality virgin oil with significant defects; the EU describes lampante as not intended to be sold at retail, and typically refined or used industrially.

Refined olive oil and blends

Refined oil is processed to remove defects, often then blended with virgin oils for flavour; IOC standards also define refined olive oil by low acidity thresholds after refining.

Best for:

high-heat cooking where you want neutrality, though many people still prefer EVOO for daily use.

Flavour, not just grade: which olive oils taste like what?

Beyond categories, Spanish shopping aisles are full of variety-led oils. A few common reference points:

• Picual

  : robust, peppery, often high in polyphenols; great with grilled vegetables, lentils, and anything that can handle intensity.

• Arbequina

  : softer, fruitier, often with gentle bitterness and a smooth finish—widely associated with Catalonia and areas like Les Garrigues.

• Hojiblanca

  : a middle ground—fresh, herbal notes, versatile.

• Cornicabra

  : typically more structured and bitter; excellent for stews and winter dishes.

If you only ever buy one “standard” bottle, fairs gently nudge you to taste the difference—and to match oils to food the way you match wine.

What it means for everyday life in Spain

Even without the romance of rural Spain, olive oil in daily life is intensely practical.

If you use extra virgin olive oil the way many households do—multiple times a day—it becomes:

• A health habit

  as much as a culinary one.

• A budgeting line item

  that you actually notice.

• A cultural anchor

  , especially for anyone living in Spain who wants to eat the way Spain eats.

And that is why local fairs, not just big trade exhibitions, matter. They keep olive oil connected to people who cook at home, not only chefs and exporters.

The wider 2026 olive oil fair calendar: from village streets to global trade halls

Today’s Catalan fairs are part of a much bigger national circuit.

Coming up next month, for example, Archidona (Málaga province) is preparing its own olive oil and local products fair on 7

–8 February, mixing professional talks for farmers with a public-facing programme in the town’s central square.

Then the calendar goes international:

• World Olive Oil Exhibition (WOOE)

  at IFEMA Madrid, 3–4 March 2026.

• Futuroliva

  in Baeza (Jaén), 7–9 May 2026, positioning itself as a major Andalucian meeting point for the sector.

• Expoliva

  later in 2026, a globally significant industry fair hosted in Jaén province.

Village fairs help people taste and buy. Trade fairs help Spain sell its olive oil future.

A kitchen staple with a national storyline

The reason -+ resonates is that olive oil is one of the rare products that belongs simultaneously to:

• the small farmer watching yields and rainfall,

• the exporter negotiating global demand,

• and the person at home who simply wants dinner to taste right.

For those of us who would not be without extra virgin olive oil, the message is reassuring: Spain’s best producers are not treating olive oil like a commodity. They’re treating it like culture—something worth defending, improving, and explaining.

And if 2026 is the year you buy a better bottle than usual, this is the moment to do it. Not for status. For flavour. For farmers. For the simple pleasure of pouring something honest onto your plate.

Sources:

Ministry of Agriculture, IFEMA, Futuroliva