The Berkane region in eastern Morocco, one of the country's strongholds of citrus production, is preparing to launch its early clementine export campaign. According to Mohammed Saidi, CEO of Vergers Domaine Tarifit, the region's growers are experiencing the same problems as those in Souss Massa, but are faring better.
Saidi explains: "We have finished harvesting and will be exporting our early clementines next week. As in the rest of the country, we have been hit by adverse weather conditions this season, in addition to water shortages. The impact on production has been considerable, with volumes reduced by half and a shortage of large sizes. Size 1 represents only 5% of production, while we have sizes 4-5 in abundance."
"This is the second year in a row that production is down," adds Saidi, "but we're still seeing an improvement on the catastrophic previous season, and we're doing better than other regions of Morocco like Souss Massa. The temperature in Berkane has been better, and we can still find water at a depth of around 100m, whereas it takes 300m in Souss Massa. Also, we haven't had any diseases or other phytosanitary problems."
Berkane's clementines are exported in particular to Russia, Europe, and North America. "But this year, due to the drop in volume, we will not export to the United States and Canada, and will be concentrating on Russia and the European market," adds Saidi. Moroccan citrus exports to Russia are not affected by the war in Eastern Europe and the resulting sanctions. "We send our citrus by conventional freight from the port of Nador to Saint Petersburg. We have a few logistical concerns, but these are not linked to the sanctions."
As for prices, "there will undoubtedly be an increase this season," says the exporter. "The drop in volumes by half as well as the general increase in production costs will be reflected in our export prices."
The fate of the rest of the citrus season in the eastern region remains dependent on rainfall. Meanwhile, many growers have had to abandon early clementine production altogether this year, concludes the grower.
For more information:
Mohammed Saidi
Vergers Domaine Tarifit & Packing house Eurober
Tel: +212661772581