Agroforestry News

The second Moroccan Avocado Summit took place on 15 October in Larache, with 250 participants. Growers made up most of the audience, with a strong turnout of small-scale growers. The whole value chain was also represented, from producers and exporters to input suppliers, banks, packaging, transport and logistics players, and representatives of chambers of commerce and agriculture, Foodex, ONSA and other public institutions. The second edition confirms the event’s identity as a rallying point for growers, and its ability to reach and mobilise small-scale ones.

The sector’s main challenge, reflected in the summit’s agenda, is low yields: around 5 tonnes per hectare, against 30 tonnes in competing Latin American origins, according to Abdellah El Yamlahi, president of the Moroccan Avocado Association (MAVA). Diversification of market segments and geographic markets was also on the agenda, alongside industry players’ call for greater integration.

The summit comes at the very start of the 2026/27 campaign, with Hass avocados expected at the end of October. The sector missed the green-skin export window this season, exporting none due to aggressive competition pricing, but strong local prices absorbed the losses. Expected volumes point to a recovery after last season’s setback. While estimates continue to diverge, MAVA maintains its projection of 100,000 tonnes of Hass exports this season.

In his opening speech, El Yamlahi described avocado as an engine of regional development, bringing in €360 million per season and providing 10,000 jobs. The sector has, however, long suffered from “unfair publicity”, notably the claim that it depletes the water table, which delayed its integration. He called for converging efforts and government support so the sector can achieve sustainability, improve yields and valorise sorting gaps, particularly as production will soon exceed local market capacity. He also called for greater integration and for continuing the process of the creation of an interprofessional federation able to carry the sector’s voices.

Closing the yield gap
The sessions that followed delved into the technical and agronomic aspects of raising yields. Abdellatif Amrani, technical and regulatory director, said many small-scale growers don’t apply proper practices, notably in phytosanitary treatment, which partly explains the low yields. Avocado is among the most sensitive crops, he stressed, yet many small growers consider it easy to grow, and combined with Morocco’s difficult climate, this weighs on yields.

© Youness Bensaid | FreshPlaza.com
Abdellatif Amrani, Promagri

Mustapha Mamdouh, development manager for the Gharb-Loukkos area at the same company, also cited insufficient farming practices, especially in difficult climate conditions, but argued the gap can be narrowed. He said growers who adopt exemplary practices already exceed 20 tonnes per hectare, while a yield of 30 tonnes for six-year-old trees is not impossible with proper practices. Nutrition must be adapted to the tree’s growth stage, he added, which is preferable to blind fertilisation. The need is all the greater because temperatures in Morocco often exceed what the crop can tolerate, causing heavy losses, as last season’s heatwaves showed.

Chouaib Malloul, irrigation director at CMGP CAS, covered the design of drip and misting installations, the latter aimed at coping with heat. He started with the water source, whose availability and quality must be checked before any investment, and gave budget estimates for proper water treatment aimed at avocado growers.

Sustaining growth
The summit’s second axis focused on compliance, notably social and environmental, not only with regulations but with the requirements of destination markets. The finding is that the avocado sector still has gaps to close, compared for example with the more advanced berry sector in Morocco.

Imad Oustachne, international auditor at International Associates Morocco, addressed the obligations that come with SMETA certification. He said buyers in key markets in Europe, the UK and North America increasingly ask about workers’ rights, hours, wages, safety and complaint mechanisms. Social audits of farms, packhouses and storage units are both a compliance tool and a passport to export markets, he added.

Labour mobilisation remains a sensitive point. El Yamlahi said the seasonal labour shortage continues to hamper production, and shared that discussions are under way with the competent authorities on resorting to foreign labour to ease it, and that results could come soon.

Hicham Hachimi Alaoui, senior sales manager at CMA CGM, addressed compliance with environmental standards. He said importers increasingly question their suppliers about carbon emissions. He presented the shipping line’s net-zero ambition, its vessel retrofits and its use of lower-carbon fuels, and said it offers exporters carbon-reduction certificates. He encouraged a shift from road to sea transport, and gave producers and exporters cold chain advice: harvest at the right time for the target market, pack and ship the same day, pre-cool and avoid hot loading, never mix ripeness stages, and keep the chain unbroken from packhouse to terminal.

Market overview
El Yamlahi presented MAVA’s latest figures and the season’s prospects. For the 2026/27 campaign, MAVA forecasts production of 120,000 tonnes, of which 100,000 tonnes are for export. Planted area stands at more than 12,000 hectares, although he said unconfirmed estimates go up to 17,000. Area can no longer grow significantly, he noted, so the room for progress lies in yield. Last season’s heat and the late-season rains also still weigh on the trees’ yield this season, he added.

According to El Yamlahi, the best commercial window this season runs from late October to late January, when European prices are optimal, before the main Israeli volumes arrive. He advised marketing the maximum tonnage between early November and mid-December, while avoiding an occasional oversupply. Green-skin varieties, by contrast, are exported only at the start of the season, and this year, because of low prices of Israeli fruit, Morocco missed that window entirely. Local demand acted as a safety net, absorbing the losses at good prices.

Moroccan origin continues to hold an edge in European markets, El Yamlahi said. Customers have confirmed their programmes for the season and want to keep increasing volumes, particularly in the period when Morocco is most competitive.

His presentation gave an overview of this season’s competition. Production is expected at around 80,000 tonnes in Spain, where drought in Andalusia has weighed on output, 135,000 tonnes in Israel, 194,000 tonnes in Colombia and 265,000 tonnes in Chile. Israel is the direct competitor from November to January, with very high yields due to technology and agricultural research; its only brake is sea freight costs. Latam brings considerable volumes, and Colombia ships a lot of small fruit that weighs on that segment of the market. Their weak point is distance, with transit of up to six weeks, so any delay at sea can immediately create a shortage on the market. Pressure from Iberian and Latin American origins intensifies in February, and the season ends in March and April when Peru takes over.

Morocco’s asset, El Yamlahi continued, lies in its proximity to Europe, a transit time of three to four days and the reputation it has built, which he said must be preserved and strengthened. Water scarcity is its main constraint, which is why he advocates a premium positioning. He added that criticism over avocado’s water consumption must be answered with efficient irrigation on farms.

Looking ahead, El Yamlahi recommends consolidating early quality, moving from a race for hectares to water-sustainable yield, and accelerating certification and traceability under ESG standards.

He also set out diversification levers. He shared that MAVA is in talks with operators to develop processed products such as guacamole and sauces for supermarkets, and has carried out a market study on a frozen avocado segment, which is promising. Extending sales to the Middle East and the UK would reduce dependence on continental Europe. Buyers from the Gulf and neighbouring countries visit regularly, he said, but pricing remains an obstacle, partly because of competition from Kenya.

The open floor brought up concerns from different parts of the chain. One wholesaler supplying the local market urged for a longer window for good-quality Hass avocados in sufficient quantity. One grower called for greater pricing transparency, at a time when relations between growers and packers can be a source of tension. Labour came up too, with the difficulty of mobilising workers among the sector’s constraints. Water supply also featured in the discussion, with a need expressed for a seawater desalination plant in the region to secure supply for the growing areas. A representative of Morocco Foodex also urged growers and exporters to improve traceability and compliance with regulations. Overall, the exchanges confirmed the need to press ahead with an interprofessional federation able to bring together voices and interests around one table and carry the sector’s challenges to the relevant authorities.

For more information:
Abdellah Elyamlahi
Moroccan Avocado Association (MAVA)
Tel: +212 678732391
Email: [email protected]

Rita Bensaid
Moroccan Avocado Summit
Tel : +212 661-189590
Email: [email protected]

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