oMOROCCO – Morocco, a traditionally modest supplier of carrots to Spain, has experienced a significant surge in the 2022/23 season, exporting 5.7 times more carrots to Spain compared to the previous market year.

The increase, according to a Tridge report, is driven mainly by drought in Europe. This drought has resulted in a supply gap from countries like Belgium, which is Europe’s second-largest exporter of carrots to Spain.

Currently, Morocco holds the fourth position among carrot suppliers to Spain, following the Netherlands, Portugal, and France.

“This achievement is particularly impressive, given that Morocco’s carrot exports to Spain had been quite limited in preceding years, ranging from a mere 20 to 280 metric tons (mt) per marketing year,” outlines the report.

Over a span of six years, only 936 metric tons of Moroccan carrots made their way into the Spanish market.

However, the current season has seen an unprecedented rise in exports, with over 1.5 thousand metric tons of Moroccan carrots valued at USD 720,000. The peak of exports was recorded in February-March.

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum reports that this drought had a direct impact on carrot production, resulting in a decrease in carrot exports from France to Spain.

Consequently, Morocco seized this opportunity and increased its share of carrots in Spain’s total imports. The country, over the the last 6 years held around 1% of Spain’s market but by the end of the 2022/2023 marketing year, it had risen to 7%.

“Moroccan carrots have made impressive strides in the country, with exports increasing 7.6 times over six years, reaching nearly 52,000 MT in the 2022/23 season,” outlines the report by Tridge.

Meanwhile, as a result of drought in Europe, Egypt had earlier announced that its onion exports to the European Union had skyrocketed to 128,000 tons in 2022/2023.

the North African country reported that drought had adversely affected the EU’s onion bulb production for that year, resulting in a reduced yield and lowered onion stocks in the region.

According to the CBI, Europe is a large and mature market with stable demand for a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Data from a Statista report shows that in the Fresh Vegetables market, volume is expected to amount to 103.70 billion kg by 2028. The Fresh Vegetables market is expected to show a volume growth of 3.5% in 2024.

The average volume per person in the Fresh Vegetables market is expected to amount to 106.1kg in 2023.

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