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Rabat – A recent study by Rekolt reported that the 2019 tax exemption on American almonds increased their share in the Moroccan almond market from 21% in 2019 to 83% in 2021.
The removal of import duties on American almonds was a major blow to the less competitive local production, which is estimated at roughly 30,000 tonnes, said Rekolt.
The study, conducted in the Fez region, found that Moroccan consumers prefer to buy “very affordable” American almonds over the Moroccan nuts with a “sophisticated flavor, nice shape, and great oil content.” In the Fez dried fruits market, for instance, American almonds were sold at MAD 60/kg whereas Moroccan almonds were offered at MAD 67/kg.
Morocco notably possesses the world’s third-largest area of almond trees, estimated at 210,000 hectares. However, the local yield of almond trees has stagnated over the past 20 years, with a slight yearly growth of 0.6 tons per hectare, whereas other countries such as Iran have doubled their output.
The stagnation of Morocco’s yield growth reflects the inefficiency of the traditional local plantation methods that cannot compete with American industrialization, the study argued.
The gap between Moroccan and American production methods is reflected in the low use of irrigation and fertilizers by Moroccan small-scale farmers who own and manage ten times fewer trees than their American peers.
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Over the past 20 years, the Moroccan production of almonds has nearly doubled, meeting domestic needs. However, the latest replacement of local production with American products has placed increasing pressure on local farmers whose almonds are primarily directed to the national market.
REKOLT notably indicated that less than 1% of Moroccan almonds – mainly bitter ones- are exported. In 2021, Moroccan almond exports dropped from 500 tonnes in 2020 to 330 tonnes in 2021, marking the country’s lowest volume of almond exports in the past decade.
“We do not export our almonds, because we have a bad reputation globally and our sector is not structured enough,” explained a Moroccan farmer interviewed by Rekolt.
The restructuring and modernization of Moroccan almond production is necessary to increase the competitiveness of local production in the domestic market and respond to the rising global demand for almonds, which grew by 5% in the past year.
As for 2022, Rekolt expects the American share in the Moroccan almond consumption market to drop to 66%, whereas 32% of Moroccan almonds are set to meet the local demands.
The organization explained that the forecasted change would be driven by selling stocks of past years’ Moroccan almonds at a lower price which is forecasted to increase their competitiveness. However, the quality of the almonds might be the subject of criticism by local consumers.
