Morocco’s Organic Farming Sector Faces Challenges in Global Market Expansion

To position itself comfortably internationally and give itself a visibility that contributes to further promoting Moroccan know-how in the field of organic products. This is the dream cherished by the managers in charge of the "Made in Morocco" management. And to achieve it, Morocco is making a lot of efforts, in particular the provision of 9,600 hectares of arable land dedicated to organic farming, which is divided into seven sub-groups of products, as reported by Le360.

Based on the details provided by L’Économiste, the news site lists, among other products, fruits, vegetables, aromatic plants, cereals, processed products such as oils, livestock products, argan and its derivatives. These are, affirms the same source, about a hundred products that are sold on the local market and for export. For the most part, they are fresh (fruits and vegetables) and have a low added value (oils, dried or mixed fruits).

Out of the 94,000 tons produced nationwide in organic farming, around 17% (16,000 tons) are destined for export, according to the media, which cites the main consumers of Moroccan products. We note the French in first position, demanding between 3,500 and 4,000 tons, followed by the Germans, between 3,000 and 3,500 tons, the Swiss, consuming a little more than 500 tons, and the Dutch. Other countries such as Turkey, Spain, Great Britain and the United States also consume Moroccan organic products.

As bottlenecks, for a strong "penetration on the local market", L’Économiste notes the relatively high price of the products, hence the need to consider lowering production costs, to allow "more affordable prices, but also better margins for local growers". The development of a local organic seed market would also be the source of salvation for the sector, the newspaper indicates.