Rabat – Data from Hortoinfo indicate that Moroccan watermelons are taking over Almeria’s products in European markets, including France and the Netherlands.
Moroccan exports of watermelon increased by 204.1% between 2016 and 2020, while Almeria’s exports grew by 32.33%.
Morocco’s watermelon exports also moved from 79.56 million kilograms in 2016 to 241.94 million kilograms in 2020, the statistics show.
Meanwhile, watermelon exports from Almeria reached 427.78 million kilograms in 2020 against 323.27 million kilograms in 2016.
Other European countries continue to export more watermelon from Almeria however, including Germany.
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German imports of watermelon from Almeria increased from 15.61 million kilograms in 2016 to 18.8 million kilograms in 2020.
Meanwhile, Germany bought 5.21 million kilograms of Morocco watermelon in 2020, against only 1.33 million kilograms in 2016.
Statistics show a remarkable increase of France’s imports of watermelon from Morocco. The number moved from 26.43 million kilograms in 2016 to 87.78 million kilograms in 2020.
France’s imports of watermelon products also increased from 44.35 million kilograms in 2016 to 63.35 million kilograms in 2020.
The Netherlands also continue to import more watermelon products from Morocco. The country’s imports reached 26.96 million kilograms in 2020, against 5.87 million kilograms in 2016.
Meanwhile, Dutch imports of watermelons from Almeria slightly decreased (25.72 million kilograms in 2016 against 25.65 million kilograms).
The statistics emphasize that Morocco’s watermelon exports to Spain shows a significant increase of 255.48% during the same period.
The number of Moroccan watermelon exports to Spain moved from 21.97 million kilograms to 78.01 million kilograms between 2016 and 2020.
According to 2020 Data, Morocco is the world’s 15th largest producer of watermelons with a volume of more than 742, 000 tonnes.
