A pioneering endeavor that once seemed impossible: Brazilian extra virgin olive oil gains prestige

Viamão (Brazil)In Catalonia, olive oil is much more than a food: it is a landscape, a culture, and a way of life. In any gourmet shop, it is easy to find bottles or small cans of Siurana, Garrigues, or Ventalló at often prohibitive prices: half a liter can cost between 16 and 20 euros, and up to 230 in super-luxury editions, like Oldfargus 2000 oil from Maestrat, made with olives from ancient olive trees. A tradition that has been consolidated for centuries and is part of the Mediterranean identity.

More than 8,000 kilometers from Terres de Ponent, the Empordà, or the Valencian Country, in southern Brazil, a group of small producers is trying to write their own olive-oil history. They are not centuries old—at most two decades—but their commitment to sustainable pollination techniques and regenerative agriculture is bearing surprising fruit. What once seemed unthinkable—producing high-quality extra virgin olive oil in a tropical country—is today a reality recognized by experts at the International Olive Council, an entity that accounts for 95% of global production. Brazil is not yet a member, but the quality of its oils is already garnering admiration and starting to receive awards in international competitions.

The challenge, however, is not so much to conquer the global market—dominated by giants like Spain, Italy, and Greece—as to educate a population that doesn't have olive oil as part of its culinary heritage. "Everything the Mediterranean doesn't want, we buy ourselves, and it's often labeled as extra virgin when it isn't," says Flávio Obino Filho, president of the Brazilian Institute of Olive Growing (Ibraoliva), to ARA. The country's 550 producers—who produce nearly one million liters annually—work "under extremely difficult conditions," he adds. "In supermarkets, we have very poor-quality oils that must compete with ours, which are magnificent and highly awarded." Price is also a factor: what comes from Europe is much cheaper than the local oil.

One of the most inspiring projects is that of Lucídio Morsch Goelzer, founder of Estância das Oliveiras in Viamão, half an hour from Porto Alegre. Fourteen years ago, after seven trials and study trips, he obtained his first oil: twenty kilos of olives and just under two liters of oil. "In the family, we joked," recalls André, one of his three sons, also in charge of the business, along with his brothers, "that it was the most expensive extra virgin olive oil in the world. My father took care of every drop."

The joke, today, is no longer a joke. With nine different varieties and 28 hectares of planted land, the family produces one of the five most awarded olive oils in the world. "Small quantities—6,300 liters in 2025, 12,000 planned for 2026, if the weather is good—but high quality. A liter costs around 100 euros, and we sell everything we produce," explains Rafael Sittoni Goelzer. "As for restaurants, you'll only find our oil in establishments with Michelin stars."

Like any innovative project, making oil in Brazil required time and numerous training trips. The Goelzer family planted 36 olive-tree varieties to see which ones were best adapted to the soil and climate of Rio Grande do Sul—Arbequina, Koroneiki, Coratina, Picual, Frantoio, Ascolana, Arbosana, Grappolo, and Leccino—where today more than half of the producers and 6,200 of the country's 10,000 hectares of olive groves are concentrated (to give you an idea, there are 114,000 in Catalonia and 2.66 million in the rest of Spain). As a brand, Estância’s oil has only been marketed since 2019, with a first harvest of 1,400 liters.

Lacking tradition, small Brazilian olive growers have opted for innovation. At Estância das Oliveiras, for example, they have managed to increase productivity through natural pollination. In Catalonia, this process depends primarily on the wind and the proximity of compatible varieties such as Arbequina and Argudell. But in Rio Grande do Sul, high temperatures, humidity, and unstable winds make it difficult. "Pollination has had to find new players," explains André Sittoni Goelzer. Which ones? Native stingless bees, such as the jataí and the mandasaia, capable of increasing olive-grove production by up to 30%. In some areas of the estate, the family maintains hives to facilitate the process. These are species adapted to the tropical climate, capable of flying in high humidity and entering tiny flowers with a precision that the wind cannot guarantee.

Thus, the local biodiversity of Latin America is at the service of a crop that for centuries has been the exclusive heritage of the Mediterranean. And from there arises a paradox: in a country with no olive-growing tradition, Brazilian pioneers are beginning to demonstrate that quality—not history—may be the key to the future of olive oil. But the battle to conquer the domestic market is a long one, and it’s the one they are now forced to fight.