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Current pepper campaign in Morocco
Morocco
Tuesday 12 May 2009
As far as the 2008-2009 campaign is concerned, according to official estimates from the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 57,000 tonnes of peppers were produced in an area of 1,120 hectares up to January 30th, 2009. As at February 2009, exports totalled 35,000 tonnes.
Mr. Tazi declared: “It is too early to pass judgement on this campaign. We have observed a notable drop in yield due to low temperatures in the period from December to February, which also affected quality. However, at the moment quality is good, and we expect an increase in sales with the rise in demand at the beginning of spring.”
Mr. Tazi declared: “It is too early to pass judgement on this campaign. We have observed a notable drop in yield due to low temperatures in the period from December to February, which also affected quality. However, at the moment quality is good, and we expect an increase in sales with the rise in demand at the beginning of spring.”
Although Europe is the main market for Moroccan peppers, the ASPEM association, which is present in many Moroccan regions and essentially represents the small and medium-sized growers, has plans to reach other markets in the immediate future.
Maritime transport plays a key role for Moroccan traders, with 40% of this campaign’s F&V production transported by sea, according to Mr. Tazi. “Morocco is launching a new logistic strategy that will enable us to reach new destinations,” Tazi commented. “We will continue to take advantage of the logistics currently in place for citrus fruits, in order to position other vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers in non-EU markets such as Russia and Canada.”
