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Rabat – New data said greenhouse vegetable exports from Morocco have been declining due to climate issues, including drought.
Agriculture-focused website EastFruit said the exports “suffered a severe setback,” with a sharp decline in tomato exports while shipments of other vegetables have stagnated.
This issue, however, does not affect sweet pepper exports, said EastFruit. According to the website, Morocco exported 48,000 tons of bell peppers from July to November 2023.
This number represents a remarkable 9% increase from the same period of the previous season.
Tomato shipments from Morocco, however, declined by nearly 20% to 206,000 during the same period.
Meanwhile, cucumber exports remained stagnant at 6,000 tons.
“The first months of the 2023/24 export season were not very fruitful for Moroccan exporters, despite their impressive performance in the past,” East Fruit added.
Morocco has been witnessing the driest seasons in the past five years due to a lack of rainfall.
The past week witnessed heavy thunderstorms and rainfall, but this was followed by scorching temperatures that affected several provinces across the country.
There is still lingering hope from farmers and agriculture experts that the rainfall could help mitigate the drought crisis.
For instance, Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment celebrated a slight increase in Morocco’s dam filling rate following the latest rainfalls.
According to the ministry, the rainfall contributed to a slight increase of 269 million cubic meters.
The filling percentage shifted from 22.9% on Friday to 24.5% on Monday.
