MOROCCO – The state of expensive tomatoes in Morocco has resulted in fewer tomatoes being exported to European markets with most of the produce circulating within North Africa.
The Almeria vegetable market in 2023, for instance, has seen a consistent trend in prices, notably driven by challenges in transport and shifting production dynamics affecting tomato prices.
According to Julián Rodríguez García, a La Cañada farmer, the recent drop in tomato prices was partly due to transport limitations during the Christmas period.
However, despite this dip, branch and pear tomato prices surged significantly compared to the previous season, rising by 200% and 82%, respectively, as reported by the Price Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía.
The impact of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus has further affected both Moroccan and local production of tomatoes.
“Morocco’s production is significantly affected, and we are also experiencing repercussions due to the virus here in Almeria. Despite these challenges, our quality remains notably high, arguably the best we’ve had,” Julián emphasized.
The campaign in Almeria kicked off later than usual, delayed by the scorching temperatures in September and October, coupled with concerns about pest expansion.
This delayed the initial supply, which seems to be a shared situation across other Mediterranean regions. Reports from the EU reinforced monitoring of tomato imports, indicating a 28.2% decrease in EU tomato imports from Morocco and a 43.6% decrease from Tunisia in September compared to the previous year.
Julián shed light on the market dynamics for specific tomato varieties, pointing out the scarcity of branch tomatoes.
“Branch tomatoes are scarce this year, and their labor-intensive cultivation has resulted in minimal production across countries,” he said. “Currently, branch tomatoes fetch over 2 euros per kilo due to this scarcity.”
Morocco restricted tomato exports since late February 2023 with a total short-term ban in place from to lower domestic prices in an announcement by the head of the country’s main fruit and vegetable exporters’ group.
Lahoucine Aderdour, head of the Federation of Moroccan Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables (FIFEL), told Reuters that the Agriculture Ministry had agreed on a daily quota of tomato exports before stopping all exports from March 18 to 22, with a lower quota of 700 tons a day after the ban.
Higher-priced produce such as cherry tomatoes, which represent more than half of the North African country’s tomato exports, were not included in the restrictions.
Bad weather in Morocco and Spain disrupted vegetable harvests in Morocco in 2023, leading to shortages of salad staples in Europe and to higher prices that helped push UK inflation to 10.4% that year.
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