(Morocco Berry Conference 2019) - The productions of berries in Morocco are concentrated in the regions of Loukkos (60%), Souss Massa (25%) and Gharb (15%).
STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries still account for 42% of the area of berries, but have been largely stable for seven years at around 3,500 hectares.
Strawberry exports increased by 30% in the 2018/2019 season, from 16,496 to 21,417 tonnes. Nevertheless, the share in total exports of berries fell from 30% to 29% following the growth in exports of raspberries and blueberries.
RASPBERRIES
Raspberries make up 29% of the Moroccan surface area of berries. Growth has been tumultuous, rising in ten years from 150 hectares (2009) to 2450 hectares (2019), with plans to reach 3,000 hectares in 2023.
Production of raspberries was estimated at 24,500 tonnes in the 2018/19 season, an increase of 12% compared to the previous season.
Raspberry exports grew by 42% in the same period, from 19,495 to 27,638 tonnes, which represents a 108% increase compared to 2016/17.
The main target markets are Spain (37%) which, through Perpignan's platforms, also acts as a hub for other European markets, the United Kingdom (whose share fell from 27% to 20% last season) and Germany, which in one year absorbed from 8% to 18% of Moroccan raspberry exports and was the fastest growing market (+223% between 2017/18 and 2019/19). This was followed by France (13%) and the Netherlands (11%).
BLUEBERRIES
Production of blueberries in Morocco grew gradually to 800 hectares in 2016: it then accelerated rapidly to 2306 hectares in 2019, with a forecast of 4,000 hectares by 2023.
Exports increased by 24% in the last year, from 18,013 tonnes in 2017/18 to 24,136 tonnes in 2018/19, an increase of 57% in the last two years.
