Trump tariffs force Greek olive oil producers to seek new markets

By Deborah Kyvrikosaios and Lefteris Papadimas

VARVASAINA (Reuters) -Greek olive oil producer Konstantinos Papadopoulos wasted little time when the threat of U.S. tariffs was floated by President Donald Trump in the spring. He immediately started looking for alternative buyers around the world. 

Within weeks, his family-run company had found a new buyer in Brazil, where Portuguese olive oil typically dominates. His first shipment of 15,000 bottles is expected to arrive in the port of Itapoa in two weeks.

When Reuters visited his farm on Friday, Papadopoulos was close to sealing a separate deal with a new customer in Australia.

"I think we learned a lesson from Trump not to rely with all our strength on one market... and to always have alternatives," Papadopoulos said in his olive oil mill and bottling plant, surrounded by thousands of bottles and huge tanks filled with the golden liquid.

Trump announced a 30% tariff on European products that has sent shivers through industries from wine and peaches to cars. Papadopoulos' decision shows just how wide the fallout could be as producers grow weary even of the threats of tariffs.

Greece, the fifth-largest exporter of olive oil to the United States, ships about 8,000-10,000 tonnes there annually. Three of the other top producers - Spain, Italy and Portugal - are in Europe and face the same conundrum.

The industry is huge for Greece, whose rolling hills are filled with groves of ancient, crooked olive trees.

The Papadopoulos family company exported 350 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil in 2024 to the U.S., about one-third of its total exports, and 100 tonnes so far this year. He estimates that if Trump's tariff materialises sales to the U.S. will fall by about 40% this year.

"While we had built all our infrastructure based on a large scale on the American market, suddenly we see it disappearing," Papadopoulos said.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Debora Kyvrikosaios; Editing by Hugh Lawson)