Morocco Shifts from Potato Exporter to Importer, Signaling Agricultural Trade Reversal

Morocco is regressing more and more in terms of exports, thus becoming an importer of certain agricultural products including citrus juices, tomato concentrate and other canned vegetables and condiments. In recent years, the phenomenon has expanded to include potatoes.

The kingdom, which ensured the production of more than 2 million tons of potatoes, of all kinds, now imports a significant quantity of processed products such as frozen fries, flakes and potato powder. Yet during the last decade, exports seemed to stabilize at lower levels. Thus, among the thirty exporters over the past 3 decades, only 3 or 4 continue to serve foreign markets, reports L’économiste.

According to a professional source, the operations are carried out just to make up for part of the imports of seeds under temporary admission. For some, the drop in the profitability of potatoes compared to other products such as tomatoes, peppers, green beans, peppers and others, would be the cause of the situation. But others believe it is due to the lack of certification and the absence of varietal diversification for export. However, potato cultivation has developed a lot in recent decades, with the introduction of high-performance varieties such as Nicola and Spunta, Désirée, Timate, Roseval, Diamant and others.

However, in the absence of a processing industry, Morocco imports pre-cut and calibrated fries from the EU and Egypt, a total of 10,000 tons under the free trade agreements. The same goes for potato flakes and powder for the manufacture of mortadella.