Morocco produces seven times less watermelon than Algeria, but earns 436 times more from exports

The latest FAOSTAT data show that Algeria’s watermelon production reached exactly 2,520,724 tonnes in 2024. Morocco produced 339,454 tonnes, 7.4 times less than its neighbor.

The Kingdom ranks only fifth among Arab producers, behind Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Its harvest also fell by 26.6% in one year, after reaching 462,720 tonnes in 2023. This decline comes amid restrictions imposed on watermelon cultivation to preserve water.

On Bladi.net : Morocco’s Watermelon Production Drops, Slips to 20th Globally

The difference nevertheless becomes spectacular when the two harvests cross borders. UN Comtrade’s 2024 statistics record 113,683 tonnes of watermelon exported by Morocco, worth 94.04 million dollars.

Algeria, despite a harvest more than seven times larger, officially exported only 275 tonnes, worth 215,549 dollars. The value of Moroccan sales abroad was therefore 436 times higher, and their volume 414 times greater.

One in three Moroccan watermelons is exported

Relative to national production, the contrast is even more striking. Morocco exported the equivalent of approximately 33.5% of its 2024 harvest. For Algeria, declared shipments represented barely 0.011% of production. In other words, the Algerian sector supplies almost exclusively its domestic market, while a significant share of Moroccan watermelons is destined for foreign customers.

This orientation places Morocco sixth worldwide among exporters by value, behind Spain, Mexico, Italy, the United States and the Netherlands. The Kingdom also accounts for 67.8% of the value of watermelon exports declared by Arab countries with data for 2024. Algeria, meanwhile, ranks 71st worldwide.

The gap is not primarily due to price. The declared average value reached approximately 0.83 dollars per kilogram for Moroccan exports, compared with 0.78 dollars for Algerian shipments. It is therefore mainly explained by Morocco’s ability to deliver its production to major European markets, particularly France, which has become the leading destination for Moroccan watermelons.

These statistics measure only exports officially recorded by customs. They do not make it possible to assess domestic consumption, informal channels or the actual profits earned by producers. The amount of 94 million dollars corresponds to the declared commercial value, not the net profit of the Moroccan sector.

On Bladi.net : Moroccan Watermelon Exports Hit 7-Year Low Amid Drought

2024 was nevertheless not favorable to Morocco: the value of its watermelon exports fell by 48.2% compared with 2023. But even after this near-halving, the Kingdom remained sixth worldwide and by far the leading exporter in the Arab world. Algeria dominates harvested volumes; Morocco, for its part, turns far more of its watermelons into export revenue.