(Thanks to rain and new varieties) The ministry of Agriculture in Morocco and Aspam is satisfied with the present export season of the citrus, which started in the beginning of October 2011 and will run till the end of June 2012. 571,000 tons is expected to be exported against 530,000 tons in the previous season. This increase is because of the rainfall in October and November, but also thanks to the new harvest of the new plants (1,200 HA) and the arrival of the new varieties Nour, Nules and Afourer.
Nevertheless the economic situation of the sales market is marked by the results of the international economic crisis, which has caused a slight decrease in price. Also the present export volume is 10% less compared to the same period last year, as the present export season started two weeks later because of weather conditions. By starting the export season later a better taste and a better quality of the fruit could be guaranteed. It is expected that the citrus production will increase by 6% to 1.8 million tons (that is 2% of the worldwide production which amounts to 100 million tons), of which 1.2 million tons is destined for the inland market. This means that only 32% of the production is available for export. Morocco meets a lot of competition from Turkey, Greece and Egypt. Russia is the country where most of the citrus goes (49%) followed by the European Union (37%) and North America (12%)
The inland market is therefore an important customer of the citrus industry,
which experiences an increasing demand.
Orange in all its varieties have with 975,000 tons (Maroc Late 44%, Navel 35,5%)
the most important position in the total citrus production. Also the small fruit has a large share of the total production with 764,000 tons, of which 67% are clementines. The region Souss is at the top of the production with 744,000 tons which is 41% of the total production followed by the region El Gharb (19%), Oriental
(15%), Tadla (15%), Haouz (8%) and Loukkos (2%).
The government anticipates a production of 3 million tons in 2020, because of programs of renewal and extension of the orchards by 50,000 HA. This is to produce a yield of about 0.57 billion Euro.
Publication date: 1/25/2012
Author: Gerard Lindhout
