Israeli Argan Oil Production Surpasses Morocco’s, Challenging Global Market

Israel is positioning itself as a formidable competitor for Moroccan argan oil. The country has favored scientific research to significantly increase its productivity. And the success is there. Thus, the Israeli company Sivan has produced much more than the other producing countries, including Morocco, after 25 years of research, reports Barlamane. Indeed, there are currently 20,000 argan trees planted in Israel thanks to the tree cloning technique. This technique has made it possible to produce no less than 1,000 trees from a single one.

Faced with this unsightly situation, Morocco intends to regain its world leadership. In this sense, the kingdom has been able to mobilize 45 million dirhams MDH: 15 MDH invested by the National Agency for the Development of Oasis Zones and the Argan Tree (ANDZOA) and 30 MDH in the form of equipment by the German Cooperation Agency GIZ. This investment will be used to build an argan center next year. According to the stakeholders in this project, the argan center will be a platform for heritage interpretation, convergence and coordination of research and knowledge management and support for the sector and stakeholders.

With the sector’s program contract, Morocco should reach 10,000 tons of argan oil production by 2020 against 4000 tons, in order to meet the global demand estimated at 20,000 tons.