Morocco Remains Top Importer of Tunisian Dates Amid Local Concerns

According to the Tunisian National Observatory of Agriculture, Tunisian date exports during the first four months of the 2024-2025 season reached around 73.3 thousand tons, for a value of 479.6 million Tunisian dinars. These exports recorded an increase of 4.3% in volume and 6.9% in value compared to the same period of the 2023-2024 season. And Morocco remains a key buyer of these dates.

According to the same source, the kingdom represented the main destination for Tunisian dates in January 2025, accounting for 29.1% of the quantities exported, maintaining its position as the leading importer of Tunisian dates. It is followed by Turkey and France, which imported 9.8% and 7.1% respectively. Last December, Morocco had also risen to first place among importers of Tunisian dates, with an import share of 19.7% of the quantities exported.

Meanwhile, Moroccan date producers are concerned about the "unfair competition" of imported products from several Arab countries. They have also called for not opening imports to some of them, assuring Hespress that the available stocks are sufficient to meet demand. "The Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, after hesitating at the beginning of the date season, finally opened, as it does every year, the import of dates not covered by the free trade agreements, in particular those from Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, at the end of January last," these professionals stressed.