Morocco Faces Tomato Price Surge as Cold Weather Impacts Crop Yields

Tomato prices are particularly high in Morocco this fall. The kilo of tomatoes is displayed between 8 Dh/Kg and 9 Dh/Kg at the retailer. At the origin of this surge, low temperatures without precipitation that have had a negative impact on tomato production. "Tomato yields have decreased in recent days due to the cooling of the climate in the Souss Massa region," which accounts for 85% of national production, explains Mustapha Aouragh, a tomato producer, quoted by the specialized site FreshPlaza. He will specify that "last week marked the end of a long summer, but the temperatures are a bit too low at the moment. The day starts with a temperature of 10 degrees in the Agadir region. Tomato yields have fallen to an average of 500 kg per hectare and per day, with a harvest every two days, compared to 1,000 or 1,200 kg two weeks ago."

The environmental situation also explains the surge in tomato prices. "The effect of frost" due to the unprecedented cold wave, losses due to ToBRFV are affecting volumes. "The uprooting of contaminated plants remains the only solution, and the lost volumes vary from one week to another and from one producer to another," assures Aouragh, noting that it is difficult to establish an average for the entire region for the season that has just begun. "But we have recorded fewer losses thanks to the drop in temperatures, but also thanks to the increase in producers’ knowledge in terms of preventing contamination," he adds.

This sharp drop in production is not without consequences on exports. "There is a clear increase in demand from buyers in the Netherlands, which is not easy to fully meet, given that exporters are required to honor their contracts with, in particular, buyers in France and the United Kingdom, who buy more under contract," the producer said. This situation is actually pushing him to favor the cultivation of peppers. "The tomato industry has become so complicated and unpredictable that I have opted this season for peppers, which are less exposed to viral pressure, as well as small fruits," specifies Aouragh.

In addition to tomatoes, crops with sensitive developmental stages to frost, such as flowering fruit trees, tender leafy vegetables and spring crops, are also vulnerable to the cold, it is reported.