Moroccan tomatoes see 2% decline
Tomato season in Morocco has seen a 2% decline this year. The estimated volumes will be around 803,…Tomato season in Morocco has seen a 2% decline this year.
The estimated volumes will be around 803,600 tonnes which is down 2% compared to 2014/2015 season. The annual harvest will be divided as follows: 68% of annual production will consist of round tomato varieties; 6% of the round cluster tomato type; and 26% of cherry tomatoes.
Due to an increase in the production of round tomatoes, the quantity of cherry tomatoes will be slightly lower this season. The reason for this decline was due to higher production costs, including the costs of equipment, labour and storage, related to the cultivation of cherry tomato varieties.
A Moroccan delegation of tomato producers said, at a recent meeting in Brussels, that they would like to impose different import prices for round tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. The Moroccan delegation said they could try calculating prices daily rather than weekly.
As a result of agreements reached between Russia and Morocco, trade relations between Moscow and Casablanca could increase significantly in coming years. Moroccan tomatoes currently account for about 8% (equivalent to circa 75,000 tonnes) of Russian demand.