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Rabat – Rose oil producers in Morocco are expecting a record harvest this season, supported by heavy rainfall and snowfall across the country this winter. The improved weather conditions have boosted production after an already strong performance last year.
Rose production reached around 4,800 tons last year, compared to 3,500 tons in the previous year. Farmers and cooperatives now expect an even better outcome this year.
The rose-picking season has already started and is expected to continue until mid-May. It will coincide with the International Rose Festival, which will take place in Kalaat M’Gouna from May 6 to 9, an event that celebrates the region’s most important agricultural product.
Rose water and rose oil produced in the area are widely used in cosmetics, perfumes, and traditional products. They are considered high-value products both locally and internationally, and support the livelihoods of many rural families.
Speaking to SNRTnews during the 18th International Agricultural Fair (SIAM) in Meknes, the president of the Rosa Damaskina cooperative, Zahra El Alouani, expressed optimism about this year’s harvest, saying that the rainfall will have a positive impact on farmers supplying roses to cooperatives.
Houssain El Ouardi, head of the Warda Oasis agricultural cooperative, shared similar optimism. He told SNRTnews that cooperatives are expected to operate at full capacity for rose distillation this season. He added that the price paid to farmers for fresh roses used in distillation ranges between MAD 23 and 30 per kilogram.
In addition to rose production, the strong rainfall this winter is also expected to have a positive impact on Morocco’s wider agricultural season. Experts and farmers are optimistic that the improved water reserves and soil conditions will support better yields across different crops, especially cereal production, which had been affected in previous dry years.
Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture Ahmed El Bouari revealed earlier this week a projected cereal harvest of around 90 million quintals for the current season. The forecast represents a sharp increase compared to the last season, when production did not exceed 44 million quintals.
