Rabat – Morocco’s tomato exports to foreign markets reached 716,700 tons in the 2022/2023 market year, according to new data from the website East Fruit. The exports have helped Morocco generate revenues of $990 million, the website reported earlier today. “Over five years, the volume of tomato exports from Morocco has increased by more than 25%,” the report noted, adding that, “over a decade, the country has shown the fastest growth rates among the largest exporters of these vegetables.”
Noting that tomato is the leading category in Morocco’s foreign trade in fruits and vegetables, the agricultural website stressed that Moroccan exporters send their tomato products to 44 countries. It added, however, that Moroccan tomato growers mainly target European markets.
“In Q1 2023, one-third of all tomatoes sold in the EU were imported from Morocco,” said Easy Fruit’s report, adding that France “is the main buyer of Moroccan vegetables.” According to the website, “more than half exports of this product [tomatoes] from Morocco are directed to French markets.” Other notable buyers of large quantities of Moroccan tomatoes include the Netherlands and the UK. Yet Morocco’s tomato exports have raised concerns both in Morocco and in importing countries. local and external concerns.
Locally, many Moroccans have over the past several months complained about Morocco’s exports of large quantities of its vegetable and fruit production. They have pointed out that such large exports put pressure on the local market in terms of the quantity of products, leading to price increases that weigh on citizens’ purchasing power.
Meanwhile, the massive exports of Moroccan tomato products are causing concern among international producers — especially those in Europe who have been worried about a sharp decline in consumer interest in local products. At a meeting last May, tomato suppliers from Portugal, Italy, France and Spain reiterated their concerns about their countries’ importing of cheaper Moroccan vegetables. In particular, they complained about what they described as “uncontrolled growth of tomato imports from Morocco.”
Source: MWN
