Libyan olive oil: where it grows, its Roman history and what makes it extra virgin
Leptis Magna is an extra virgin olive oil from Libya, named after the Roman city of Leptis Magna (Lebda) on the Tripolitanian coast, once a major centre of olive oil production. This guide covers where olives grow in Libya today, what the sources say about oil in Roman Leptis, and how a Libyan oil earns the extra virgin grade.
Where do olives grow in Libya?
Olive farming is concentrated in the northwest. An FAO country report describes olive farms in the coastal belt, “especially in the western part of the country”. 6 In a 2018 FAO survey, olives and pulses were the main crops in the Western Mountain district (Al Jabal Al Gharbi, the Nafusa mountains). 7
A 2014 study of Libyan olive varieties collected its samples in Msallata, Tripoli, Zliten, Tarhuna and Gharyan. 8 In the east, wild olives grow throughout the Green Mountain (Al Jabal Al Akhdar). 8
The same study cites official 2008 data of about 205,000 hectares planted with more than 9 million olive trees, and notes that most cultivation lies along the coast, limited by hand labour, scarce water and little arable land. 8
Which olive varieties are grown in Libya?
Libya grows both local varieties (landraces) and varieties introduced from abroad. The 2014 study examined 90 cultivars and found that the local ones differ clearly from imported ones. 8
- Local Libyan cultivars in the study include Chemlali, Gargashi, Hammudi, Jabbugi and Bayyudi, and an ancient landrace called Rasli. 8
- Introduced cultivars grown in Libya include Frantoio, Coratina, Leccino and Arbequina. 8
- Most local landraces originated in western Libya, specifically around Msallata. Gharyan and the highlands have a mix of landraces and introduced varieties, while most olives around Tarhuna, Zliten, Tripoli and the coast are cultivars developed in other countries. 8
How much olive oil does Libya produce?
| Crop year | Status | Production | Consumption | Exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Final | 15.5 | 15.5 | 0.0 |
| 2024/25 | Provisional | 16.0 | 15.5 | 0.0 |
| 2025/26 | Estimate | 16.0 | 15.5 | 0.0 |
In other words, Libya consumes about as much olive oil as it produces, and the IOC records almost no exports. For scale, the same table puts Tunisia's 2023/24 production at 220,000 tonnes. 9
What role did olive oil play in Roman Leptis Magna?
Leptis Magna stood at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda, where the hills of the Gebel come close to the coast. A UNESCO monitoring report notes that olive farming there succeeded so well that it made Leptis “one of the largest centers of the production of olive oil in Africa”. 2
The oldest written evidence is a fine. The Bellum Africum, an account of Julius Caesar's African campaign of 46 BC, records that Caesar required “the inhabitants of Leptis” to pay “three million pounds weight of oil annually”, because they had allied with King Juba, Caesar's opponent, and helped him with arms, troops and money. The Latin reads “XXX centenis milibus pondo olei in annos singulos”. The text says only “Leptis”, without “Magna”. 3
Archaeology points the same way. Studying olive presses and oil containers from the region, the historian David Mattingly concluded that the urban elite of Leptis Magna controlled a very large surplus of olive oil, and that this was a major source of their wealth. 4
That wealth carried a local family to the top of Rome. Septimius Severus, born in Leptis Magna, became the first African emperor in AD 193 and rebuilt his home city on a grand scale. 1,4 Under Severus, Leptis offered the Roman state a voluntary “tax” in olive oil. 4 A later Roman biography, the Historia Augusta, credits him with giving the people of Rome “a most generous daily allowance of oil” free of charge; it does not say where that oil came from. 5
Is Leptis Magna olive oil the same as the archaeological site?
No. Leptis Magna olive oil takes its name from the ancient city. The brand is not the archaeological site and does not speak for it.
The Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna, in the Khoms district, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1982 under criteria (i), (ii) and (iii). Since 2016 it has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO describes the city as having been one of the most beautiful of the Roman Empire. 1
What makes a Libyan olive oil extra virgin?
The grade is defined the same way whatever the country: it depends on how the oil was made and on measured results: extraction by mechanical means only, free acidity of no more than 0.8%, the other chemical limits, and a trained tasting panel finding no defects and some fruitiness. See olive oil grades explained. Libya is a member of the International Olive Council, which sets that international standard; it signed the current agreement in 2016 and has chaired the Council since January 2025. 10
Leptis Magna is a Libyan extra virgin olive oil from an early, green harvest, cold pressed within hours of picking, with free acidity of 0.4% or less. You can judge it yourself with our tasting guide.
Sources
- Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna
- Reactive monitoring report: archaeological sites of Sabratha and Leptis Magna (mission of 18–28 January 2007)
- The African War (Bellum Africum), chapter 97, Latin text and translation by A. G. Way (Loeb Classical Library)
- The olive boom: oil surpluses, wealth and power in Roman Tripolitania
- Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus, 18.3, translation by D. Magie (Loeb Classical Library)
- Libya: country report to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources
- Libya: the impact of the crisis on agriculture. Key findings from the 2018 Multi-sector Needs Assessment
- Morphological and molecular characterization of Libyan olive, Olea europaea L., cultivars (42 local and 16 wild type) in comparison to 41 introduced (world) cultivars
- Key figures on the world market for olive oils (data adopted at the 122nd session, November 2025)
- Who we are: members of the International Olive Council