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Rabat – Spain’s advantage over Morocco in tomato exports has decreased to a little over 5%, making way for the possibility of the North African kingdom surpassing its European neighbor in exports for the first time ever.
Spanish media outlet Hortoinfo, which specializes in agriculture, reported this week that while Spain was 10 years ago exporting more than double the amount as Morocco, its advantage fell to 5.2% in 2021.
“Morocco is already about to overtake Spain in tomato exports, and this development could occur in 2022 for the first time in history,” the outlet noted, adding that Morocco has increased its tomato exports by more than 40% over the last 10 years.
In contrast, the biggest European tomato suppliers such as Spain and the Netherlands have seen theirs decrease significantly, with Spain in particular decreasing its exports by more than 40%.
If it overtakes Spain, Morocco could become the world’s third largest exporter of tomatoes, behind the Netherlands and Mexico.
The North African kingdom exported 629 million kilograms in 2021, compared to Spain’s 662 million kilograms. Spain’s exports accounted for 8.5% of the global total last year, while Morocco’s were 8.1%, according to data from Comtrade, the UN’s international trade statistics database.
France was the biggest receiver of Moroccan tomato exports with 334 million kilos, followed by the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, and Mauritania, Hortoinfo documented.
Despite experiencing remarkable growth over the past 10 years, Morocco’s agriculture output has been notably hit this year by a heavy, alarming drought season. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture has said it is expecting the added value of the country’s agriculture sector to drop by 14% by the end of this year.
