Moroccan Citrus Industry Seeks Emergency Aid Amid Soaring Export Costs

A week before the export campaign, which promises to be very difficult, the anxiety is still gaining ground among citrus fruit producers and exporters. Industry officials are talking about soaring logistics costs and containerized maritime transport, reports Challenge.

According to their estimates, the additional costs vary between 1.20 and 1.50 DH/kg depending on the destination and mode of transport. This is almost equivalent to the average revenue the producer has made over the past three years. Even the classic refrigerated ship transport (in bulk) shows an average increase of 20%, the same source points out.

As a result, Moroccan citrus fruits will not be competitive against Egyptian or Turkish competition, whose citrus exporters have benefited in recent years from a sharp drop in their respective currencies, in parallel with production costs.

Faced with this situation, the industry warns of difficulties in serving Russia, North America and the Gulf countries, which absorb more than 50% of Morocco’s annual exports. This will result in a loss of nearly 2 billion DH.