Moroccan Olive Production Drops to 1.4 Million Tons in 2019-2020 Season

According to the Moroccan Interprofessional Olive Federation (Interprolive), the 2019-2020 season will be less successful than the previous one. Operators announce an average season, with disparities depending on the regions and the type of olives. Production has increased in some regions compared to the past year, which is considered exceptional, writes Médias24.

According to the president of Interprolive, Rachid Benali, this campaign can be "considered average compared to a normal year and not compared to last year".

He goes on to say that there are even differences in yield in the same region depending on the plantations. According to him, "foreign" olives have yielded better than purely Moroccan varieties.

As an example, the president argues that a region like the Oriental, like others, has seen its production increase very significantly compared to the past season, while others have seen theirs drop by 40% or more. In his demonstration, the specialist also gave the example of the Fès-Saiss region where Moroccan varieties have given a low production while the so-called foreign ones have been more productive.

To justify his remarks, the president explains that these disparities come from the fact that the olive varieties have different production cycles. He adds that they also react differently to climate change and require different maintenance techniques, not to mention the maturity periods which are not the same everywhere.