Moroccan orange exports are following their normal course this season, and the sector does not seem to be benefiting from the worldwide shortage of oranges caused by the very early end of the season in Egypt and Spain. Salma Keroua of Cap Growers comments: “The season has been business as usual. I haven’t felt any stronger demand than usual, and I must also say that prices are currently unsatisfactory.”
Many reasons could explain the lack of opportunity for Moroccan oranges, including seasonality and the unforeseen character of the current shortage after a long period of abundance of competition from oranges. Keroua explains: “The window for Moroccan oranges is relatively short, and our oranges reach their peak demand in November and briefly in February. At that time, there were still plenty of oranges on the market from Spain and Egypt, while Moroccan oranges were more expensive. Added to this were the problems we encountered with production, particularly in terms of mites and thrips, or mottling caused by climatic factors, which meant that only 50% of the oranges we sourced were exportable.”
According to the exporter, current demand for oranges is mainly for the Navel variety, whereas Moroccan calendars consist of the late variety Maroc Late at this stage of the season. She adds, “There is good demand for the large-caliber Maroc Late, especially from Russia and North America, but it’s the Navel that’s most in demand elsewhere at the moment, and the Moroccan Navel season is over.”
Another Agadir-based exporter declares, “We have indeed noticed a boost in demand with the premature end of the Egyptian season, but strangely, importers want to pull prices down, which doesn’t reflect the market situation and isn’t interesting for us. We preferred to relegate oranges to second place and concentrate on other fruits such as melons.”
Keroua, for her part, concludes, “Orange prices are currently low on the local Moroccan market, which shows that the shortage at the international level is not really reflected on Moroccan supply.”
Salma Keroua
Cap Growers
Tel: +212661415820
[email protected]