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Rabat – Moroccan vegetables and fruits exports to Spain increased during the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year.
Morocco’s exports of vegetables and fruits to Spain during the first half of 2021 increased by 2%, amounting to an estimated €562 million, compared to € 548 million in 2020, according to the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants,
Spain’s total imports of vegetables and fruits from countries outside the European Union during the same period amounted to €1.2 billion.
Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports have been expanding in European markets over the past few years, continuously exceeding expectations.
The improvement can be attributed to heavy rainfalls that Morocco has experienced last winter, which has had a “very positive impact” on the country’s 2020-21 agricultural season, the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests announced in March 2021.
The export sector of agricultural and maritime food products has recorded good performance at the beginning of the season despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
Exports of fresh fruits and vegetables made between September 1, 2020 and July 27, 2021, reached nearly 2 million metric tons (MT) against 1.88 MT during a similar period last year, recording a growth of 5%, according to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forestry in August.
Meanwhile in Europe, the agricultural season was marked by a harsh winter and poor harvests, presenting Morocco with an opportunity to intensify its exports to the continent.
Back in June, a union of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU submitted a letter to the European Trade Commission, expressing concerns about the “consequences of the EU-Morocco agreement.”
As a result of Morocco’s fruit and vegetable exports to the EU, the union has expressed frustration, asking the European Commission to “act quickly in the face of the dramatic disturbance in the fruit and vegetable market caused by the EU-Morocco agreement.”
The union also complained about the impacts of Brexit, adding that “the provisions established in the EU-Morocco agreement, which were revised in 2014 and regulate the export of tomatoes originating from Morocco to the EU are inefficient,” the letter stated.
The continuing consequences of Brexit are expected to have a significant impact on Morocco’s agri-business sector.
Moroccan exports are expected to further exceed expectations with the bilateral association agreement entering into force this January 2021, the launch of a new commercial campaign promoting Moroccan products in the UK and the creation of a new direct maritime trading route between the two kingdoms.
