Morocco Rises to Third Largest Global Tomato Exporter, Eyes European Market Dominance

Moroccan tomato exports increased from 570,000 tons in 2023-2024 to 621,000 tons during the 2024-2025 campaign, representing a 9% increase year-on-year and 2% compared to the 2022-2023 campaign, said Ali Rougui, head of the monitoring department at Morocco Foodex, during the Tomato Conference. Globally, Morocco is the 3rd largest tomato exporter, with an 11% market share and an average annual growth rate of 11%. Despite this performance, the kingdom will have to redouble its efforts to compete with major competitors such as Portugal, which records an average annual growth rate of 41%, or Jordan (14%), and to a lesser extent with France (8%) and Italy (6%), which are trying to gain strength in the global market.

Morocco has also established itself as the second largest supplier of tomatoes to the European Union, with a 24% market share, and remains the second largest supplier to the United Kingdom. In Gulf countries, Morocco ranks as the sixth largest tomato supplier, with a 4% market share. In West Africa, the kingdom comes in second position, details Ali Rougui. The European market, including the UK, is the main destination for Moroccan tomatoes. Some 577,000 tons were exported there during the 2024-2025 campaign, compared to 535,000 tons in 2023-2024, an increase of 8%. The sub-Saharan African market ranks second, with 31,000 tons exported, up 23% from 25,000 tons in the previous campaign. The Gulf countries market comes in third position with 3,000 tons exported compared to 2,000 tons for the previous campaign.

In terms of product segments, 350,000 tons of segmented tomatoes were exported, compared to 311,000 tons in 2023-2024, while 271,000 tons of round tomatoes were exported during the 2024-2025 campaign. However, the Moroccan tomato sector still faces certain challenges, both at the production level (phytosanitary pressure with the spread of the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus - ToBRFV, drought, excessive rainfall or heat waves) and in trade where competition is particularly fierce with Turkey, a situation compounded by the volatility of international prices and environmental regulatory pressure. Forecasts indicate a decrease in production from 17 million tons in 2024 to 16.56 million in 2028.