Casablanca's date market, famously known as the "Derb Milan market", is booming with the approach of Ramadan. As the country relies heavily on imports to cover local market needs for dates, even more so in a year of drought, many origins are competing on the Moroccan market.
"The overwhelming majority of dates sold here come from abroad, I'd say it's 90% versus 10% of local dates. Moroccan consumers are hungry for dates, especially during Ramadan, and local production isn't enough," says Mohammed Elharech, a date seller at Derb Milan. "This year, We're seeing even fewer Moroccan dates because of the drought in the main growing areas," he continues.
The current season brings something new in terms of origins, according to Elharech: "Traditionally, the first origin of dates imported in Morocco is Tunisia. But there are quality issues this year. We have compensated with imports from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Egypt is clearly taking the lead, for the first time."
"We used to import Libyan dates too, but this year they haven't arrived yet for reasons that escape me, perhaps related to export procedures that push their prices up exaggeratedly. We'll see by the beginning of February whether there will be any Libyan dates on the market this year. Algerian dates are also behind schedule," the importer continues.
As a result, there will be fewer Deglet Nour dates on Moroccan tables. Alharech adds, "The most popular varieties this season are Sokkari from the Gulf and Egypt, as well as the Masria variety." Masria, literally translated as "Egyptian", is the name given in Morocco to the Saeidi variety, according to an Egyptian exporter.
These varieties, which dominate Moroccan import volumes, correspond to an intermediate quality range. This is dictated by inflation according to Elharech. "There are fewer premium varieties, such as Medjool, in distribution this year compared to the previous one. Drought has caused a decrease in Moroccan Medjool production, and imported Medjool is simply expensive."
In terms of prices, the increase over last season is clear. Elharech says, "Prices are currently 30-50% higher than at the same time last year, and we're expecting an increase of up to 80% as Ramadan approaches (early March), due to the increase in prices at the origin."
For more information
Mohammed Elharech
Abdesslam for foodstuff
+212641302038