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Rabat – Morocco’s olive oil production is set to increase by 40,000 tonnes at the end of 2022, marking an annual rise of 25%, according to data from the European Commission.
In its Spring 2022 outlook for agriculture produce, the European Commission notes that oil production worldwide has largely recovered in non-EU countries. In major oil olive producing countries, production largely increased or remained stable.
Tunisia’s production rose by 70%, Morocco’s went up by 25%, while Turkey’s production remained stable, the report indicates.
Despite recovering production levels, olive oil prices remain 15% above the five-year average.
The price of olive oil currently ranges between €320-330 per 100 kilograms, according to the report.
Olive oil production is an important subsector of agriculture in Morocco. The industry employs 380,000 workers and has a 19% share in Morocco’s domestic edible oil market.
The country’s olive oil imports generated approximately MAD 1.8 billion (roughly $180 million) annual average between 2013-2017.
The industry is equally an integral part of any of Morocco’s agriculture reforms. The most recent agriculture reform, “Green Generation 2020-2030,” aims to increase the sector’s overall imports to MAD 60 billion ($6.6 billion) by 2030.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Morocco’s olive oil industry still has a long way to go.
Despite the country’s potential to be a global olive oil producer, it lacks a consumers’ culture for the product.
According to survey data cited in The Olive Oil Times, only 4% of the overall population knows the difference between extra virgin olive oil and non-virgin olive oils.
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