Research published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the last month on the citrus cultivation in Morocco confirms a predicted decrease in harvest. The total citrus harvest this season is 1,494 million tons – about 20% smaller than the previous year, as mentioned on the German website, Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI).
The harvest of 2012/13 suffered from the heat wave in the months of May and July 2012. The region Sousse-Massa was hit the most and, out of the fruit varieties, the harvest of the orange Maroc-Late suffered most from the heat. The export was about 357,000 tons, about 18% less than the exported quantity of last season.
The harvest expectations for the 2013/14 season are very optimistic. The quantity of rain in the Winter (September-April 2012/13) was 28% more than average and up to now the climatological circumstances were favourable with the result that an increased harvested quantity for the 2013/14 season is expected again.
