2023 Was a Tough Year for Moroccan Frozen Produce Exports

Fez – Moroccan exports of frozen fruits and vegetables saw a significant decline last year due to adverse weather conditions and intense international competition, the website EastFruit said in its monthly report published on February 1st, 2024.

Data shows that Morocco shipped less than 70,000 tons of frozen fruits, berries and vegetables between January and October last year, and that these exports are expected to reach their lowest level in six years.

According to EastFruit, the main drop in exports occurred between February and May 2023, a crucial period for shipments of frozen strawberries, the country’s main frozen product.

Adverse weather conditions, including storms, cold spells and drought in April, severely damaged strawberry plantations, leading to a decline in exports to just 45,000 tons for the first ten months of 2023.

Producers of raspberries, Morocco’s second largest export category, have also reduced shipments due to a glut of frozen raspberries on the EU market.

While Morocco exported 10,000 tons of frozen raspberries from January to October 2023, countries such as Ukraine, Poland and Serbia recorded much higher figures with 42,000, 90,000, and 73,000 tons respectively.

Exports of apricots and other fruits reached some of the lowest levels in recent years, while those of frozen vegetables more than doubled compared to 2022, however representing a limited share of the total volume (around 6% for January-October 2023).

Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East are other actively developing destinations for Moroccan products, such as mandarins, with their shares in Morocco’s total exports respectively amounting to 10% and 4% in 2022. Moroccan exporters also consider some more remote export destinations, but volumes are not so large in those cases.

Meanwhile, European Union countries continue to import around 80% of Moroccan supplies. But Morocco’s exports to the EU fell by 40% for January-October 2023, and the country’s exports to North America (USA and Canada) also dropped by 28%.

In contrast, exports to China, East Asia, Australia, South America and other destinations increased, but without representing a significant share of Morocco’s total export volume.

While Morocco’s fruit and vegetable market has experienced steady growth over the years, challenges related to water stress – lack of rainfall – could affect the country’s agricultural performance.