Morocco’s tangerine and mandarin production for marketing year 2022–23 is expected to fall to 900,000 metric tons (MT), a 34% decline from the previous season’s 1.36 million metric tons. The forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) blames the decline on heat stress, water scarcity and increased input costs. Many orchards in the Berkane region suffered 40% to 50% losses during fruit setting, trade sources reported.
Water scarcity in Morocco had a significant impact on all citrus production. A crop year 2021–22 drought reportedly diminished snowpack, resulting in record low levels of irrigation water. Some farms were able to substitute groundwater, but many small farms couldn’t justify the expense of drilling new wells. The increasing cost of irrigation, combined with other production cost increases, led many growers to remove citrus orchards.
USDA FAS estimated that up to 6% of Moroccan citrus area was permanently removed in 2022, including an estimated 10% of tangerine and mandarin planted area. The area planted in mandarins and tangerines in September 2022 was 59,150 hectares, down from 65,750 hectares in 2021.
The Moroccan export season started in early November, two weeks later than average because fruit maturation was delayed. Tangerine and mandarin exports are expected to decline by 48% from the prior season to 325,000 MT.
Russia and the European Union (EU) remain Morocco’s top export markets; 182,346 MT of mandarins and tangerines were shipped to Russia and 180,699 MT were shipped to the EU in 2021–22. A record 109,254 MT were shipped to the United States, which was Morocco’s third largest export market. Canada, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East account for most of the rest of Morocco’s mandarin and tangerine exports.
Morocco did not import any mandarins and tangerines in 2021–22, nor is it expected to import any in 2022–23.
See the full USDA FAS report on Moroccan citrus here.
Source: USDA FAS
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