Morocco Dominates European Watermelon Market, Leading Exports to Spain and France

Nearly two-thirds (65.35%) of Spanish watermelon imports, or 78,500 tons (52.36 million euros and an average price of 0.67 euros per kilo), come from Morocco, according to the specialized news site Hortoinfo, noting that the kingdom has outpaced Senegal (16.11%) and Mauritania (10.15%) in the Spanish market.

Moroccan watermelons have also dominated French imports in 2023, the same source reveals, noting that the kingdom supplied 121,910 tons to the Hexagon during the period, which represents more than 45% of imports of this fruit, far ahead of Spain (99,220 tons) and Mauritania (30,880 tons).

According to Hortoinfo data, Spain imported a total of 120,050 tons of watermelons in 2023, moving from 21st to 8th place among the world’s largest importers of this fruit. The United States tops the ranking with 820,910 tons (16.83% of the total), followed by Germany (9.22%), France (5.55%), Canada (4.97%), Poland (3.61%), the Netherlands (3.37%) and the United Kingdom (3.36%).

The same source indicates that with an average price of 0.83 euros/kilo, the Netherlands is the most remunerative market among the ten largest global importers of watermelons. They are followed by France (0.81 euros/kg) and the United Kingdom (0.77 euros/kg).