Morocco shipped out nearly 57,000 tons of melons from January through November of last year, marking a 25% rise compared to the whole of drought-stricken year of 2022, reported data analytics platform “EastFruit.”
The analytics platform wrote that this recovery resulted in numbers which not only surpassed the five-year average by 5% but also ranked among the highest levels seen in recent years.
The surge in export growth last year was primarily driven by record-breaking yields in May and July, contrasting with the low sales of Moroccan melons abroad prior to May. The standout performance came in July, 2023, with exports totaling 12,000 tons, nearly 12 times higher than the figures from 2022.
EastFruit said that France emerged as the dominant destination for Moroccan melons, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total exports from Morocco.
Spain followed as the second-largest market for Moroccan melons, witnessing a record volume of melon imports from Morocco in 2023. Spanish importers boosted their purchases by a factor of 2.6, reaching a record 13,800 tons by the end of 2023.
While exports to other countries that were less significant for Moroccan interests remained relatively stable, Portugal imported 2,000 tons of Moroccan melons, with Mauritania and Italy importing 1,900 tons and 1,300 tons, respectively. Smaller quantities of Moroccan melons were also exported to Belgium (750 tons), the Netherlands (395 tons), the UK (374 tons), and several other countries.