Morocco’s Orange Exports Plummet 72% in 2023, Raising Concerns for Major Producer

From January to August 2023, Morocco, one of the world’s largest producers of oranges, reduced its exports to 30,000 tons ($13.7 million) compared to the same period last year when it sold 109,000 tons on foreign markets for a value of $71 million, reports HuffPost.

"Morocco is the third largest African producer of oranges after Egypt and South Africa. However, unlike its neighbors, Morocco will significantly reduce its exports of these citrus fruits for several reasons by the end of the current season. According to our calculations, Moroccan orange exports for the 2022/23 season will fall to the lowest level in at least 8 years," warned Yevhen Kuzin, fruit and vegetable market analyst at EastFruit.

Moroccan orange exports reached a record in 2017, when more than 160,000 tons were sold on foreign markets. Since then, exports have fallen year after year, moving Morocco from eleventh place in 2022 to thirteenth place on the list of global exporters.

This drastic drop in Moroccan orange exports is due to unfavorable weather conditions, particularly the drought that has hit the kingdom hard, affecting yields. The drought in Spain and Italy, the hurricanes in the United States and the snow in Turkey have also affected the production of these major orange-supplying countries.