Moroccan watermelon booming abroad, with France in the lead

According to data from Global Trade Tracker and the Office des Changes, the Kingdom exported nearly 175,000 tons during the first eleven months of 2025. This performance shows a major turnaround in the activity after 2024, which was considered the most difficult year of the last decade for the agricultural sector.

France has emerged as the Kingdom’s leading customer, absorbing nearly 50% of the volumes, followed by Spain with a 23% share and the United Kingdom at 8.5%. Deliveries to the British and Portuguese markets are returning to levels close to those of 2022, the reference year when global exports had peaked at 297,000 tons.

This recovery comes after a marked decline in 2023 and 2024, caused by a severe drought. The shortage of water resources had forced the authorities to restrict, or even ban, this crop in several regions, temporarily removing Morocco from the top 10 of global exporters of this fruit.

Although current volumes remain lower than the peaks reached before the climatic constraints, watermelon is regaining its place among the top fruits exported by the Kingdom. This rebound is part of a broader recovery dynamic also affecting tangerines and potatoes.