Fresh Plaza
Morocco: Domestic consumption makes up two thirds of national citrus production
On July 2, the association ‘Association des Conditionneurs d’Agrumes du Maroc’, in collaboration with ‘Maroc Citrus’, held a seminar on the theme ‘Domestic market organization of citrus’, with the aim to make maximum use of the opportunities offered by the Plan Maroc Vert. The Moroccan citrus sector is one of the most important sectors of the national economy and plays an important socio-economic role. Since the citrus sector falls under the Plan Maroc Vert, substantial investments have been made to update proceedings.
Morocco produces an average of 1.3 million tons of citrus per year. 530,000 tons of these are for export, at a cost of 3 billion dirhams. Professionals of the sector say that Morocco possesses great distribution capability around the Mediterranean. But more is needed to reach full export potential. In Morocco, they say, the development of the citrus industry has room for improvement.
According to Ascam, Spain and Turkey, direct competitors of Morocco, have access to a better organized local market and also have a head start on the European market. The Moroccan market has a rather informal character and lacks a proper balance between local consumption and export. Ascam wants to increase the competitiveness of Morocco for the export market.
Ahmed Darrab, General Secretary of Maroc Citrus, says that two thirds of national production goes to domestic consumption. On the local market, tons of citrus are sold directly for cash, there are few control options, prices vary greatly by region, depending on the supply and mass distribution, etc.
The seminar gave professionals the opportunity to find structural solutions to more effectively control the local market.
