Turkey's Olive Harvest: Changing Techniques, Who Does the Work, and Why It Matters
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In brief
Turkey's olive harvest opens every October, starting with table olives on irrigated lowlands before moving to oil-variety trees once seasonal rain arrives. In Aydın province, the country's largest olive-growing area, hand-combing has largely replaced stick-beating, a shift that has put more women than men in the orchards, earning roughly 1,000 Turkish lira a day.
Olive harvest season in Turkey began in October 2026, with work first concentrated on flat, irrigated orchards that grow table olives, according to regional reporting from Aydın province. Oil-variety trees, dominated locally by the memecik cultivar, are harvested later, once seasonal rainfall softens the ground and the fruit, the same reporting notes.
Two harvests, two seasons
Aydın is described in coverage of the harvest as holding Turkey's largest olive tree population. The staggered calendar — table olives first, oil olives after the rains — shapes when labor demand peaks in different districts of the province each autumn.
From beating sticks to hand combs
Harvesting in the region has traditionally relied on beating branches with sticks to knock olives to the ground, work historically done mostly by men. Growers have increasingly switched to combing the branches by hand instead, a method reported to require less physical force and to reduce bruising that can lower the quality of table olives.
That technical shift has coincided with a change in who picks the fruit: women now make up most of the workforce in combing-based harvests. In the Köşk district of Aydın, women workers interviewed said they had no trouble finding harvest work and reported earning 1,000 Turkish lira per day, according to local reporting.
Volunteers and shared labor
Beyond paid labor, Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports ran a program called the "Gönüllü Hasat Şenliği" (Voluntary Harvest Festival) in Yenipazar, a district of Aydın, in which university students and staff from the local youth center joined producers in the fields. Reporting on the program framed it around three values — labor, sharing, and mutual aid — presented as a way of linking younger generations to agricultural traditions and community solidarity.
Turkey's place in global olive markets
The local harvest connects to a much larger international market. According to the International Olive Council's executive director, cited by TRT World, Turkey has consolidated its position as the world's second-largest olive oil producer, behind Spain and ahead of Italy, over the 2020–2025 seasons, while also becoming the leading global producer of table olives, overtaking Egypt.
Türkiye seems to have consolidated its position as the world's second-largest producer of olive oil and table olives.
— Executive director, International Olive Council (via TRT World)
Turkish olive oil output swung sharply between seasons: production peaked at 505,000 tonnes in 2024/25, 58 percent above the seasonal average, before TRT World reported a projected decline to 290,000 tonnes for 2025/26, a 43 percent drop. Table olives moved in the opposite direction commercially: Olive Oil Times, citing the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters' Association (EZZIB), reported record table olive exports of $255 million in 2024/25, up 22 percent, with black olives accounting for $194 million and green olives for $61 million.
Turkey's olive sector: key figures
Indicator
Figure
Source
Global rank, olive oil production
2nd largest producer, 2020–2025 seasons
TRT World / International Olive Council
Olive oil output, 2024/25 season
505,000 tonnes (+58% over seasonal average)
TRT World
Olive oil output, 2025/26 (projected)
290,000 tonnes (-43%)
TRT World
Table olive exports, 2024/25
$255 million (record, +22%)
Olive Oil Times / EZZIB
Total olive product exports, 2024/25
$480 million
Olive Oil Times / EZZIB
Daily wage, harvest workers, Köşk (Aydın)
1,000 Turkish lira
Yeni Alanya / Habertürk
Olive Oil Times also reported that overall olive-product exports, combining oil and table olives, reached $480 million in 2024/25, with the United States alone contributing $118 million of that total, citing EZZIB figures.
Taken together, the figures link the daily routine described in Aydın's villages — women combing branches for a fixed day rate, students volunteering alongside professional pickers — to a sector that has become one of Turkey's larger agricultural export earners.
Questions
When does the olive harvest start in Turkey?
Harvest reporting from Aydın province shows work beginning in October, first on irrigated land for table olives, with oil-variety trees such as memecik picked later once seasonal rain arrives.
Why has hand-combing replaced stick-beating in olive harvesting?
Growers have shifted to combing branches by hand because it requires less physical force and causes less bruising to the fruit than traditional stick-beating, according to regional reporting from Aydın.
How much do olive harvest workers earn in Aydın?
Women working the harvest in Aydın's Köşk district reported earning 1,000 Turkish lira per day and said they had no difficulty finding harvest work, according to local news coverage.
Where does Turkey rank globally in olive oil and table olive production?
Citing the International Olive Council, TRT World reports Turkey has become the world's second-largest olive oil producer over the 2020–2025 seasons and the leading global producer of table olives.
Are young people involved in Turkey's olive harvest beyond paid work?
Yes — Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports ran a 'Voluntary Harvest Festival' in Yenipazar, Aydın, in which university students and youth-center staff helped producers pick olives alongside paid workers.
How the world is telling it
TurkishTurkish regional news outlets cover the olive harvest primarily as a local economic and social story — focusing on daily wages, the shift toward female labor as combing replaces stick-beating, and youth volunteer programs framed around solidarity — rather than on national export statistics, which appear mainly in specialist trade and international coverage.
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