According to the Minister of Agriculture, Moroccan citrus production should reach a record 2.3 million tons this year, compared to the 2 million tons reached last season. About 550-570,000 tons are expected to be exported, 20-30,000 tons more than last season. However, it all still depends on how the markets develop.
Fruit calibrating, particularly for early varieties such as clementines, was delayed due to the 75 days of high temperatures. Clementines are in a difficult situation at the moment on the domestic and export markets as the rain in November and December accelerated maturity at the cost of quality. The incident involving larvae presence in a shipment to the American market should also be taken into account. Some production which is still on the trees now risks not being exported to the American market.
Citrus production has gone over the targets outlined in contracts made with the government and managing the production is an obstacle, particularly due to imbalances between varieties. 80% of production is made up of small fruits, the rest is oranges - the same levels are recorded at export. Ahmed Darrab, General Secretary for ASPAM (Association of Moroccan Citrus Producers), says that the disequilibrium is due to the prices of small fruits being the most remunerative on the local and export markets, as well as competition from Spanish, Egyptian and Turkish oranges on the export market.
The Inter-profession is currently trying to rebalance markets and Mr Darrab says that “the reduced dependency on the Russian market is now on the right track”. The Russian market only represented 40% of their citrus exports last season, compared to 60-65% not even 3 years ago. At the same time, Moroccan presence on the EU market has increased by 15 points. However, mid the 2016-2017 season, the Russian markets position was dominant. Russia took in 123,000 tons of the 262,000 tons of citrus exported (47%). This is a 7% increase compared to to the same time in 2015-2016.
Meanwhile, exports to the EU reached 73,000 tons, up 24% compared to the same time last season. The balance the inter-profession is aiming to achieve could well be reached within a few months.
Meanwhile, in December, Moroccan tomato prices on the EU market were double that fixed by the EU. Professionals say the situation is due to a decrease in acreage in Morocco and Spain. Exports currently reach 180,000 tons, the same as that reached over the same period in 2015-2016. The EU is the largest market, taking in 132,000 tons with Russia in second place, importing 41,000 tons.