Selling into the EU

Tunisian Trade into the EU: From Bulk Goods to Your Own Brand

Updated: 11 August 2026 Holdwise editorial team Tunisia Olive oil Brand

You can sell Tunisian olive oil, dates and garments in the EU for several times the bulk price under your own brand. For this, you need a company inside the EU. Today, Tunisian exporters sell most of these products in bulk: oil in flexitanks, dates in cartons and garments made to order (cut-make-trim). At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

Bulk prices and brand prices

Bulk olive oil is sold at the world market price. A bottled Tunisian brand in an EU shop is sold for several times that price. To get that price, you need packaging, compliance with EU rules and a sales channel. A Dutch BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) can take on three tasks. It can act as the EU food business operator and sign the retail contracts. It can also handle VAT on direct sales to consumers (D2C).

Selling products in the EU? Check which EU representative your product needs.

Dates and premium packing

Deglet Nour dates are sold all year, with the highest demand around Ramadan. Under the origin rules of the association agreement, you can pack the dates in premium packs inside the EU. You can then run private-label and own-brand programmes for retailers, with short European delivery times.

Garments: from contract work to your own collection

Margins on cut-make-trim work are low. You earn more when you sell your own collection to EU boutiques and online platforms. The BV handles EU textile labelling, the new EU producer responsibility rules for textiles (EPR) and the requirements of online marketplaces.

You can import into the EU through the Netherlands and pay zero VAT at the border. See fiscal representation for non-EU importers. There you read about the Article 23 licence, the EORI number and the monthly work involved.

Shipping and company setup

You ship to Rotterdam by short sea shipping, or by road and ferry. At import, you use Article 23. You keep stock in the EU for short delivery times. To set up the company from Tunisia, see the guide for Tunisian exporters.

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Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does olive oil bottled in the EU keep its Tunisian origin? +

Yes. The agreement has origin rules for each product. For olive oil, the origin is the country of the mill that produces the oil. Where you bottle the oil is a question of labelling and marketing. The origin stays the same.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 11 August 2026