Moroccan Olive Oil Production Falls Short of Expectations Despite Early Harvest

Occupying an important place in the diet of Moroccans, the olive harvest begins in a few weeks. A peculiarity this year where the olives have ripened earlier compared to other seasons, according to professionals, reports SRNT news.

Although production this year is significant, they believe it does not meet expectations which are much higher. "We had planned an increase in production of more than 20% compared to last year, that is to say that we expected to extract about 160,000 tons of olive oil. Now, we expect a production of only 100,000 to 120,000 tons," explained Noureddine Ouazzani, manager of the Olivier ENA Meknès agropole.

Explaining the production mechanism, the professional indicated that this year’s harvest will begin this October, as the olives are in veraison, the period during which the color of the olive changes from green to purple, producing a good quality oil in terms of aroma and taste.

This is also the ideal degree of maturity for table olives, he specified. And he added that "the quality of the olives and the precocity of their maturity depend a lot on irrigation".

Regarding purchase prices, the manager said that this year they should start at 40 dirhams per liter compared to 55 dirhams last year. But the costs will once again depend on international prices. Thanks to its annual production, the kingdom rivals global producers, ranking 5th with a harvest of around 140,000 tons.