The current pandemic makes the transport to Europe challenging. The Moroccan avocados are still finding their way to the United Kingdom, however. Delassus grows and exports snacking tomatoes and citrus mostly, but has been growing avocados for over ten years. Two years ago, they started exporting the avocados to the UK.
Moroccan exporter Delassus is mostly known for its citrus and snacking tomatoes, but is in the midst of their avocado campaign right now. Although they haven´t exported avocados for long, they certainly know how to grow an avocado, says Fatiha Charrat, commercial and marketing director for Delassus: “We have been growing avocados for more than ten years. However, the local market has always been very strong, so we were only selling in Morocco. Our customers were asking about the avocados more and more, so we decided to start exporting the produce two years ago, only supplying Sainsbury’s. At the moment we’re expanding and have invested in new farms, which will start producing from 2021. Therefore, new customers will be able to get their avocados from us.”
Despite the ongoing challenges in the world right now, Morocco is located closer to the European market than most competitors, making them the country a favorable option for avocados. “We grow the same varieties as avocados from other origins, Hass mainly. What makes Morocco interesting as a supplier for European customers is the proximity, with only four days transit time, and the high quality. Since the confinement policy started in Morocco, we did struggle getting trucks coming to Morocco or drivers willing to travel. The costs went through the roof and we had to switch from trucks to containers. This adds three more days to the transit time compared to using trucks but at least, it gives us the opportunity to still supply our clients.” Charrat explains.
As Delassus increases its avocado exports, Charrat realizes they’re relatively new in this market and is enjoying the new experiences. “Our main market for the moment is the UK, but we are in talks with German customers for next season. Delassus is a grower and exporter of snacking tomatoes and citrus first, which means the export of avocados is quite new to us. We’re excited by all the new aspects we are learning every day about it. We’re lucky that our customers for citrus or snacking tomatoes are also the ones who are planning with us for the future development of our avocados.” she concludes.
For more information:
Fatiha Charrat
Delassus Group
Tel: +212 665 186 868
Email: Fatiha@delassus.com
www.delassus.com