Citrus continues to be Morocco’s largest produce category, with production volumes reaching an estimated 1,137,300 tonnes last year. Morocco is the third largest citrus exporting country in the world, averaging approximately 500,000t to 600,000t per year, following Spain (3mt) and the US (1mt). According to a review of the September to November period in 2004 published by EACCE (Etablissement Autonome de Controle et de Coordination des Exportations) the export volumes of citrus had risen by an average of 11 per cent on the previous season, with oranges and soft citrus showing increases of 17 and 12 per cent, respectively.
The report stated that approximately 35 per cent, or 30,700t of the exports, would be destined for the European market, with the majority of those volumes being received by the Netherlands (for onward distribution), followed by Sweden and France. However, despite the relatively low share absorbed by the UK, Moroccan citrus continues to be well received in this country.
According to Keith Fear, citrus salesman at Bristol Fruit Sales, now is a good time for Moroccan producers. “The navels, navel lates, valencias and Salustianas have finished and we are now getting Sanguines,” says Fear. “They provide an alternative to Spain who are finishing off their late varieties now while Morocco are in full flow with Sanguine and navel lates.” While volumes have remained stable a shortage of rain has resulted in the production of more small, rather than medium or large fruit.
In general, the quality of the fruit has been very good, although navels provide consistent problems, Fear says. “The shelf-life of navels is not very good, whereas Valencia and Salustiana last longer.” Furthermore, owing to a widespread decline in the demand for heavy winter oranges, such as navals, in recent years producers have been trying to convert their plantations to more popular smaller fruits such as clementines.
At MMD Shipping Services Ltd small volumes of Maroc Lates have just started to arrive, according to distributor Trevor Marlow. “Normally Maroc Lates start at the end of March so there are only limited volumes at the moment,” he says. “Certainly by April the volumes will be at expected levels. We usually predict a good season but you can never be sure. It all depends on the Moroccans’ marketing strategy and where they decide to send the fruit.”
As a result of the severe weather conditions affecting Spain, the European market has been particularly attractive to Moroccan producers and prices have been higher than previous years. While producers are restricted by the duties imposed on non-EU produce, additional Moroccan produce has been entering the market via Spain, according to Aziz Guernah.
Guernah acts as a UK-based marketing coordinator for Mainly Direct Limited, a horticulture production site in the Agadir region. “For the UK, Morocco is usually the second choice after Spain and before Spain was enough,” he says. “But because of the Spanish weather, the UK importers don’t have a choice and the demand for Moroccan produce is good - larger than the supply available. Now most Spanish growers are going to Morocco to buy citrus, shipping it home, re-packing it as Spanish and sending it out to Europe.”
Guernah suggests these changes in weather patterns will continue as the effects of global warming become increasingly apparent. As a result, Moroccan growers are gradually moving away from citrus to cultivating greenhouse crops such as salad vegetables and strawberries, which are more flexible and not governed by the weather in the same way. “If you grow tomatoes and suddenly the market for courgettes takes off you can easily adapt within one season but with citrus you cannot do that so having trees and trees of oranges is very limiting.”
Owing to the current EU market strategy, European imports from non-EU countries are heavily taxed after April to protect European growers. However, Guernah predicts that weather changes will push production back everywhere. As such, unless the tax system is altered Morocco will be squeezed out of the market before long, he says.
Since the UK receives heavy imports of produce from the Canary Islands, the demand for Moroccan tomatoes is still very low, with only two per cent of Morocco’s 1mt total production arriving in this country. Almost 80 per cent of Morocco’s tomato exports are sent to France by road. However, some Moroccan producers are still including the UK in their European exports.
Azura Group, one of Morocco’s leading privately-owned exporters, sends green beans, courgettes, strawberries as well as round, vine, plum, cherry and cocktail tomatoes to the UK. The company says volumes of all items are lower this year than last year, while prices are slightly higher due to lower volumes in the European market.
Guernah says salad growers are enjoying a strong position at the moment. “Growers will always look at the export market first because of the potential prices. But then if there is a lack of produce in the local market, the prices suddenly go up so when the export market goes flat, there is a very good domestic market. So they’ve got two good options.”
Some producers will be trying to take advantage of the good fortune presented by Spain’s recent weather dilemma, according to Guernah. “There will be some people trying to increase production for next year but every year is different,” he says. “They will look into investments based on this year but it’s such a risk because you can’t predict the weather in advance. There might be no problem for Spain next year and then there will be floods of tomatoes with no one making above £2 a box.”
Mainly Direct Limited produces long-life Daniela tomatoes. Yet, Guernah says producers are increasingly finding vine tomatoes more appealing since they attract higher returns. Regardless of the seed type all growers in the South of Morocco encounter problems in cultivating tomatoes owing to poor soil. “The tomatoes look and taste great but they don’t hold for longer than four or five days, unlike the “Dutch tomatoes which will last for a couple of weeks,” he says. The problem is they have chemicals which Moroccan producers don’t want to pay for. They reduce the flavour but they make them last much better.”
Another perpetual grievance for Moroccan growers, especially in the southern regions, is a lack of water. “Water supply is one of our major concerns,” says an Azura spokeswoman. “Each of our farms has a well that allows us to be self-sufficient for a few days. However, this year we have had some rain so we did not face huge water shortages.”
Attempts to alleviate the widespread problem imposed by insufficient water supplies are ongoing, Guernah says. “All the main producers try to share the cost. At the moment there is a project with a Canadian company looking into converting sea water into usable water. It is funded by the European Union and has been given grants by the Moroccan government.”
According to a recent report by the Agriculture and rural Development Department of the World Bank in the US, Moroccan produce has a competitive advantage in international trade for five main reasons: low labour costs, a temperate climate that allows year-round production - especially for tomatoes - with effective irrigation, proximity to the EU market, resulting in low transport costs, longstanding trading relationships with European countries, especially France and Germany, and fairly well-organised trade associations and support institutions allowing economies of scale for marketing and trade promotions cost.
However, the report also states that Morocco is strongly prevented from increasing its export volumes owing to an inability to meet the cost of increasing requirements and standards of importing markets, particularly in Europe and North America. It says: “Farmers have the most difficulty in complying with the issues related to pesticides. Some pesticides are not available in the Moroccan market, and substitutes may not be allowable in the country of destination.”
The EurepGAP standard is being widely implemented at the farm level, but the costs are considerable. Using a case study based on a medium-sized tomato farm of 10 hectares, the authors of the World Bank report priced the cost of EurepGAP compliance at US$51,000 for set up alone. Additional annually recurring costs would include training, monitoring and surveillance, and certification, totalling approximately US$21,000.
At the packhouse level, Moroccan companies face particular problems in complying with the BRC standard requirements, the report adds. “The required pesticide residue analysis is not included in the analysis performed by the national government laboratory, and samples must be sent to Europe. The hats, gloves, and clothes specified in the BRC regulations are uncomfortable in the Moroccan weather,” it says.
While some companies may be struggling to meet such standards, Guernah says the main exporters have been aware of the requirements for years and have been re-structuring their businesses accordingly. The Azura Group provides one such example. “In order to adapt to the latest developments in packaging technology and increase its efficiency, the Azura Group has decided to extend its current packhouse, located south of Agadir, by 6,000 square metres, bringing the total surface to some 15,000sqm, spread across four buildings,” says the company spokeswoman. “The new facility, operational since December 2004, is fully equipped to comply with the latest requirements of BRC and EurepGAP certification.”
In addition, the company is committed to developing its product range in accordance with market preferences, she says. “Azura experiments each year with about a hundred new varieties, in partnership with seed breeders. The varieties we specialise in each season depend on how the market is evolving and production difficulties we have had to face. We base our product choice on which breeds will grow well in Morocco and what will be well-adapted to our market.”
Another solely private company, Guernikako, with shareholders Producers of Quality Fruit, is similarly directing all resources into achieving increasing compatibility with the European market. Having acquired EurepGAP accreditation, Guernikako is working to obtain Tesco Nature’s Choice certification by the end of March. The company supplies Tesco with a variety of beans and, according to Producers of Quality Fruit director Jose E Hernandez Buj, the Moroccan government’s Export Control Bureau has recently named Guernikako the leading exporter of green beans.
As well as 12 million kg of stringless, dwarf, fine and Bobby beans, Guernikako also produces 500,000 kg of peppers, 1mkg of melons, including watermelons, and some other items, including courgettes, mangetout and sugarsnap peas. The company currently operates almost 200ha under plastic, and is preparing a further 200ha for tropical fruits and grapes. In addition to a new packhouse located in the fields to ensure cooling is implemented minutes after harvesting, Guernikako has also benefited from advancing its methods of production. “Guernikako has developed its own hydroponic growing system, harvesting one crop entirely from the first blossom of vigorous young plants,” says Hernandez Buj. “This system produces a healthier crop with a longer shelf-life.”
However, social investment is equally high on the company agenda Hernadez Buj explains: “The main factor that has contributed to the outstanding expansion of Guernikako in Morocco is undoubtedly its social work and the subsequent dedication of all its workers in the fields and packing house.” The Agadir-based company employs 1,900 trained workers from the Atlas mountain region and provides many with housing, medical, schooling and religious facilities. According to Hernandez Buj, this social emphasis enables Guernikako to have a stable workforce, specialised in high quality growing and packaging, and maintain supplies during holidays such as Ramadan.
With regards to the future, Guernah suggests long term Morocco will continue to lose out to competition from the latest countries to join the EU. “There are now 25 countries taking priority and Morocco is seen as number 26,” he says. “The EU is investing more and more in Poland because they can get produce there 12 months a year without all the problems with customs so they feel safe, where as dealing with Morocco involves a lot more work,”
By contrast, Hernandez Buj, is optimistic about Morocco’s continuing role in the global economy. “Having explored the potential of Morocco with a careful study of climatic, land and water resources, I feel sure that Morocco, with its privileged geographical situation and ever-improving infrastructure, will soon be the main supplier of quality produce to Europe,” he says. “The climatic changes this year which have affected agricultural production in Europe and the ever-increasing cost of petrol makes it obvious that Morocco is bound to play a bigger role in agricultural supplies to Britain and the rest of Europe.”
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