The season for Moroccan round tomatoes is shaping up to be complicated, as nurseries and growers are struggling to source seeds after a weather-hit summer. Amine Amanatoullah, an Agadir-based early vegetables grower, shares his insights on the situation.
While heat waves have taken a toll on several parts of the country, tomato growers in Agadir have been dealing with the opposite situation. Amanatoullah said, "Temperatures in July and August were cold in our region, and we didn't get enough hours of sunshine. This caused a delay in the development of the plants in the nurseries, and many of the round tomato plants are not healthy at present."
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Lost plants are not easy to replace, a problem reminiscent of the summer of 2023 when adverse weather caused a seed shortage. Amanatoullah says, "This year again, there is a shortage of seeds and plants. Nurseries do not stock seeds for commercial reasons. Seed imports are also slow. We are still in an uncertain situation, with many growers unsure whether to use traditional varieties or new ToBRFV-resistant varieties."
"Another detail that complicated planting was that the nurseries were saturated with plants destined for early production, which spent longer than expected in the nurseries due to an intense heat episode between August 9 and 11. As a result, nurseries had no space to replace early plants lost to the heat or accept new plants for the normal cycle, further exacerbating the plant shortage," Amanatoullah adds.
The round tomato season is therefore likely to be delayed. The grower explains: "This problem affects sizes 1 and 2 of round tomatoes of the normal cycle, i.e., most of the production of round tomatoes of the season. There is an early production that is not affected and has already been harvested or is currently being harvested, but it does not represent significant volumes. Segmented tomatoes and small sizes, which account for 50 to 55% of production volumes, are also unaffected."
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The grower adds that the delay in launching the campaign is estimated at 15-20 days, but will vary from one grower to another. "The timing of the harvests, as well as yields and overall volumes, will depend on the solutions available to each grower. Many growers do not yet know whether they will have to work with conventional or resistant varieties; this will depend on availability and will determine growers' exposure to the virus," he continues.
From a commercial standpoint, this delay could be a blessing in disguise, according to Amanatoullah. He concludes: "Weather conditions in Europe have been favorable so far, with good tomato production in terms of both volume and quality. We are seeing that the market is calm, and buyers' preparation for the upcoming campaign is not as busy as usual."
For more information:
Amine Amantoullah
Fastexpo
Tel: +212 661 281321
Email: [email protected]
