The recovery in the European consumption of Moroccan agricultural products has allowed producers of the Souss region and the West Sahara to increase their exports, leading to a rise in the consumption of tomato and red fruit products.
Recent statistical data, published by the Ministry of Finance, revealed a significant increase in the quantities exported by Moroccan producers to European markets.
In the first eight months of this year, the volume of exports of Moroccan agricultural companies increased by 54 thousand tons, from 288 thousand tons between January and August 2017 to 342 thousand tons in the same period of this year.
The value of Moroccan tomato exports increased by 376 million dirham (about 34.6 million Euro), reaching 3.48 billion dirham (about 320.5 million Euro) in the first eight months of this year, compared to 3.1 billion dirham (about 285.5 million Euro) in the same period of 2017.
Red fruits also saw a rebound in exports to Europe. In the first eight months of this year, the total volume reached 93,500 tons worth 2.3 billion dirham (about 211.8 million Euro), compared to 78 thousand tons worth 1.56 billion dirhams (about 143.6 million Euro) in the same period last year.
The UK and the Scandinavian markets are the main destinations for Moroccan red fruits. Professionals say that the quality and speed of the shipments have given an edge to Moroccan products over those of competing countries, like Egypt.
It is worth noting that in the 2016/2017 agricultural season, the production of red fruits reached about 190,700 tons grown on 7,190 hectares, with 80 percent of the acreage located in Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima.
Source: hespress.com