- by croatiaweek
- in Food & Wine
ZAGREB, 15 Oct (Hina) – Olive growers from Split-Dalmatia County won 17 gold and eight silver medals from 25 entries at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition, achieving a 100% success rate.
Croatian producers submitted 144 olive oils to the competition in May, winning 103 gold and 25 silver medals, an overall success rate of 89%.
County head Blaženko Boban, who received the award-winning growers on Wednesday, recalled an initiative by four Dalmatian county heads to secure protection for traditional Dalmatian olive oil.
He said the region produced high-quality oils that had won awards at international fairs and competitions but needed greater promotion.
Boban also highlighted the need to consider what to plant in fire-damaged areas and said the county had co-funded four million Mediterranean fruit trees, olive trees and grapevines, a scheme it intended to continue.
Ivica Ljubenkov, head of the Croatian Olive Growers and Olive Oil Producers Association, called for better marketing of Dalmatian olive oils and improved irrigation of neglected farmland.
He said domestic oil was increasingly going unsold amid a growing supply of cheap oils of questionable quality.
Asked about the price of €40 per litre for Istrian olive oil, Ljubenkov said Croatian growers carried out all work by hand, with harvesting alone accounting for around 40–50% of the price. Mechanised production could significantly reduce costs, he added.