Moroccan citrus

Morocco's citrus exports are expected to drop during marketing year 2017/18, negatively impacted by a poor harvest brought
about by high temperatures in July and August last year.

According to a USDA GAIN report, tangerine/mandarin production is forecast to come in at 1m tonnes, down 20 per cent year-on-year, with exports falling 18 per cent to 420,000 tonnes.

Russia and the EU, which took on a combined 373,000 tonnes of Moroccan mandarins/tangerines in 2016/17, are again expected to be the leading export markets for the fruit.

Orange production is forecast to hit 935,000 tonnes, down 10 per cent, with exports falling 17 per cent to 100,000 tonnes. The EU dominates the Moroccan orange import market, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa.

Fresh lemon and lime production is expected to drop 10 per cent to 36,000 tonnes, with exports tumbling 31 per cent to 9,000 tonnes.