Morocco surpasses the United States in exports of blueberries and becomes the world's fourth largest exporter.
In 2022, Morocco became the fourth largest exporter of fresh blueberries in the world, leaving behind even the United States, reports EastFruit.
In total, Moroccan exporters exported 53,000 tons of fresh blueberries last year, and only three countries managed to exceed this volume: these were Peru (277,000 tons), Chile (105,000 tons) and Spain (87,000 tons).
It should be noted that exports from the Netherlands in 11 months of last year were higher than Morocco's 104,000 tons. However, if the volume of re-exports is taken into account, the actual result for the Netherlands will be much lower, as they imported 130,000 tons of fresh blueberries during this period.
Exports of blueberries from Canada and the United States were also higher than those from Morocco, but only if the volume of berry supply is taken into account. Thus, of the 77,000 tons of blueberries Vaccinium exported from Canada, only 18,800 tons were blueberries cultivated. Meanwhile, exports of blueberries cultivated from the United States totaled 45,200 tons in 2022.
It should also be notedthat Morocco is catching up with Ukraine in frozen raspberry exports, doubling its supply in 2022.
Recall that in 2017 Morocco was the world's seventh largest exporter of cultivated blueberries , losing ground to all the countries mentioned above and Argentina. Morocco's annual exports of blueberries then amounted to 15,600 tons; so we are talking about quantities that have more than tripled in the last five years.
Initially, more than 90 percent of Moroccan exports were destined for Spain, which re-exported blueberries Moroccans, extending the sales season. However, between 2017 and 2022, the share of Moroccan exports to Spain dropped to 36 percent, and most exports now go directly to consumer countries at blueberries. The main destinations of Moroccan blueberries sales are EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and Norway.
In addition to the EU market, Morocco has been committed to opening markets outside Europe in recent years. Thus, since 2017, the total export of blueberries fresh from Morocco to countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia has increased 9.5 times to 1,900 tons.
Until 2022, Russia was also an attractive destination for Moroccan exporters of blueberries, but due to the conflict with Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, along with the economic recession, Russia imported only 400 tons last year. By comparison, in 2020-2021 Morocco's annual exports to the Russian market were 1,200 to 1,300 tons.
Some of the most unexpected destinations for Moroccan blueberries exports include trial deliveries of blueberries to one of the continents considered among the longest-lived for blueberries cultivation, namely North America. In 2022, Canada imported 100 tons of fresh blueberries from Morocco, and in 2021, 130 tons of Moroccan berries were supplied to the U.S. market.
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Source: Blueberries Consulting
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