Morocco is now the world’s 15th largest fruit exporter in terms of value, according to the International Agricultural Trade Report by the US Department of Agriculture.
The document, issued recently by the Foreign Agricultural Service under the said US Department, said that, between 2016 and 2021, Morocco’s fruit exports more than doubled from $729 million to over $1.5 billion, accounting for more than a third of their total agricultural exports in 2021.
This was largely driven by substantial gains in berries (blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries), which now account for 60 percent of growth in fruit exports since 2016.
Blueberry export volumes have increased steadily, nearly doubling to more than 40,000 tons and increasing in value from $71 million to $300 million, with the majority of these exports going to the EU, the UK, Russia, and Singapore.
Raspberries exports have steadily risen between 2016 and 2021, rising more than 300 percent to more than $252 million, and quadrupling in volume to more than 40,000 tons.
Strawberry production in Morocco was more than 50 percent higher in 2020 than in 2011, growing from 111,000 tons to 167,000.
For mandarins, export quantities peaked in 2018 at 553,000 tons but have fallen to 465,000 tons in 2019 and 497,000 tons in 2021 due to lower production because of unfavorably high temperatures during the bloom and fruit set.
Regarding oranges, exports to the world averaged $82 million (144,000 tons) from 2017 to 2020 but dropped to $59 million (95,000 tons) in 2021. However, exports are forecast to grow with the country’s rising production
Concerning watermelons, exports jumped from $35 million (79,610 tons) in 2016, to $170 million (257,737 tons) in 2021, up more than 15 percent from the year before. Morocco had a record 57-percent market share by value in the EU in 2021 compared to just 2 percent in 2012. The country’s geographical proximity to the EU gives it a competitive advantage in comparison to other exporters to the EU.
Exports of avocados rose above $100 million and 35,000 tons for the first time in 2020 and improved market share to 5 percent.