The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Canary Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA), has convened the Official Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition (AOVE) Agrocanarias 2026 to distinguish the quality and promote the productions elaborated in the Archipelago.
In Lanzarote there are about 16,000 olive trees according to data from the Cabildo and four commercial brands: Caldera de Arroyo, Vereda de Conil, Tinguatón, and Finca El Refugio, which began its activity in 2024.
Individuals or legal entities that produce, elaborate, and package EVOO in the Canary Islands may participate in the contest, which will be held on the island of La Gomera on March 18 and 19, in facilities that have the corresponding sanitary authorization, are present in commercial channels, and operate under their own brands, in addition to being listed in the National Census of Olive Oil Facilities and Operators.
The director of ICCA, Luis Arráez Guadalupe, highlighted the growing importance that this production has acquired in the Canary Islands in recent years, and expressed his satisfaction for “being able to recover this event after a year without it being held due to a practically non-existent harvest in 2024”.
Likewise, he recalled that this initiative not only serves to make visible the excellence of Canarian products, but also to value them and recognize the effort in innovation, modernization, and continuous improvement of the producers.
The participating oils will be evaluated by a tasting panel using the so-called blind tasting system, that is, without identifying labels, in order to guarantee a rigorous and transparent analysis.
The highest-rated elaborations will be eligible for the distinctions “Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Canary Islands 2026”, “Best Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Canary Islands 2026” —aimed exclusively at products registered with the organic production operators registry and that exceed 65% of the maximum score—, and “Best Image and Presentation”, for which the labeling and packaging design will be evaluated.
Likewise, the production that obtains the highest score, provided it reaches at least 85 points, will receive the Grand Gold Medal. Those that exceed 80% of the score will obtain a Gold Medal, and those that reach a minimum of 75%, a Silver Medal.
The deadline for submitting applications ends at 23:59 on March 3, 2026. This application must be accompanied by the documentation detailed in the call for applications and must be submitted to the ICCA using the form available on the electronic headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Security () and on the website of the ICCA.
For more details on the required documentation and other contest specifications, you can consult the resolution.