Green Med Journal – The Mediterranean Fresh Produce Magazine.
Chiara Brandi
Moroccan delegation in Brussels discussed price reforms, expected production volumes this season.
The tomato season in Morocco is in full swing. While the presence of Moroccan tomatoes on the European market is rather insignificant at the moment, a notable increase in volume is expected in the month of November, when most production plants will be fully operational.
During a recent meeting of the Working Group in Brussels – in which the manufacturers and industry associations of the different Member States as well as representatives of the European Commission were in attendance – a Moroccan delegation reported on the annual production volumes expected for the 2015/16 tomato season.
Estimated total volumes will be approximately 803,600 tonnes, down 2% compared to the 2014/15 season. Particularly, the annual harvest will be divided as follows: 68% of annual production will consist of round tomato varieties; 6% of the round cluster tomato type; and 26% of cherry tomatoes.
Due to an increase in the production of round tomatoes, the quantity of cherry tomatoes will be slightly lower this season. The reason for this decline, the Moroccan delegation said, was due to higher production costs – including the costs of equipment, labor and storage – related to the cultivation of cherry tomato varieties.
One of the main concerns raised at the meeting had to do with incoming price reforms. Once again, tomato producers and the relevant associations of producers reiterated the need to impose different import price values for round tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.
The Moroccan delegation, instead, defended the right to import at a flat price rate; they did, however, open up to the possibility of calculating prices daily rather than weekly, an idea that was recently proposed by the European Commission.
While the pricing issue is far from being resolved, this year fears of European producers of an invasion of tomatoes from Maghreb have, in part, been mitigated thanks to both the decrease in estimated production volumes and by the news of the expected increase in exports to Russia.
As a result of the agreements reached between Russia and Morocco at the last edition of the WorldFood Moscow, indeed, trade relations between Moscow and Casablanca could increase significantly in coming years. Moroccan tomatoes currently account for about 8% (equivalent to circa 75,000 tonnes) of Russian demand.
