Flexitank, IBC or drums: choosing bulk olive oil packaging
Figures from our current export offer. Last reviewed 1 September 2026.
There are three ways to move olive oil in volume, and the choice is usually settled by what happens at the far end rather than by the cost of the shipment. This page sets out what each format holds, what it suits, and the questions that decide between them.
| Format | Volume | Per 20-foot container | Per 40-foot container | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flexitank | about 22 tonnes (≈ 24,000 L) | 1 | — | One grade, one destination, bulk handling on arrival |
| IBC / SpaceKraft | 1,000 L (916 kg) | 10 | 20 | Drawing down in stages, or more than one grade in a load |
| Drum | 200 kg | 80 | 160 | Smaller volumes, mixed loads, no bulk handling at all |
Flexitank
A single-use bladder fitted inside a standard 20-foot container, filled once and discharged once. It fills the container on its own and is the cheapest way to move oil per kilo, because you are paying for one container and almost no packaging. Being single-use, it has no cleaning history to verify — a point in its favour that is easy to overlook.
The trade-off is that it is all or nothing. One flexitank is one grade, one lot, discharged in a single operation. You need a pump and somewhere to put twenty-two tonnes of oil the day it arrives. You cannot split it between two customers, and you cannot open it a little.
IBC totes
A thousand litres each, which is 916 kg of oil, palletised and handled with an ordinary forklift. Ten fit in a 20-foot container and twenty in a 40-foot.
They are the middle answer, and usually the right one for a distributor. You can draw the shipment down over weeks instead of days, you can hold part of it while you sell the rest, and you can mix grades within a single container — conventional and certified organic, or two varieties, in one shipment. You pay more per kilo than a flexitank for that flexibility.
Drums
Two hundred kilograms each, eighty to a 20-foot container. The most expensive per kilo and the most handling, and still the right choice more often than people expect: a first order where nobody wants to commit to a full flexitank, a mixed load travelling alongside bottled goods, or a buyer with no bulk handling equipment at all.
How to choose
- Can you receive and store twenty-two tonnes of one grade on the day it arrives? If not, a flexitank is out, and the rest of the questions are between IBCs and drums.
- Do you need more than one grade or variety in the shipment? Then IBCs or drums. A flexitank carries one oil.
- Will you draw it down over weeks? IBCs or drums. Opening a flexitank means emptying it.
- Is this a first order? Drums or IBCs keep the commitment small while you test the market and the oil.
- Is cost per kilo the deciding factor and everything else already in place? Flexitank, without much argument.
What is the same whichever you choose
- The minimum bulk order is one full 20-foot container.
- We quote FOB Radès, Tunisia, with CFR and CIF available on request.
- Every lot ships with a certificate of analysis for that lot, not a company specification.
- The oil is the same oil. Olives are pressed the day they are picked, at Kairouan and Jammel.
- Conventional and certified organic are both available in bulk, in Chemlali, Koroneiki, Chetoui and Oueslati.
Ask for the pressing date whichever format you take. It matters more than the packaging — see olive oil shelf life and storage.
Configure a specification
You can build a bulk specification and request a quotation directly at bulk.olyfo.com, or tell us the volume, grade and destination port at sales@olyfo.com and we will come back with a specification and a price.
Related: bulk olive oil from Tunisia · formats, palletisation and container loads · which ports can you deliver to? · what a certificate of analysis actually shows.
Questions
How much olive oil fits in a flexitank?
About 22 tonnes, roughly 24,000 litres, which fills a 20-foot container on its own. A flexitank carries a single grade and is discharged in one operation.
What is the minimum bulk olive oil order?
One full 20-foot container. That can be a single flexitank, ten IBC totes of 1,000 litres, or eighty 200 kg drums.
Can you ship more than one grade in the same container?
Yes, in IBC totes or drums. A flexitank holds one grade and one lot only, so a mixed shipment has to travel in totes or drums.
What is the difference between an IBC tote and a flexitank?
An IBC holds 1,000 litres, is palletised and forklift-handled, and lets you draw a shipment down in stages. A flexitank holds about 22 tonnes, roughly 24,000 litres, in one sealed bladder, costs less per kilo, and must be emptied in a single operation.
