Morocco's agricultural export season is nearing its end, closing in July with the watermelon and grape calendars and the last volumes of vegetables nearly sold out. It has been a memorably complicated season, but for Mustapha Mohattan, commercial director of the exporter Fructimoor, "the overall result remains positive, and the agribusiness is still prospering in Morocco, even in the face of the most challenging contexts. "
The exporter states: "At Fructimoor, despite this season's challenges, we are very satisfied with our performance. Our first year of activity in agro-export coincided with a difficult context, but it allowed us to take our bearings, and we are now recognized and recommended in the agricultural ecosystem of Souss Massa for our seriousness and our determination, and this makes us very proud."
Like other producers and exporters, this year, Fructimoor has not reached its quantitative export targets for some products. Mustapha says: "This is particularly the case for the round tomato. In addition to the customs duties that weigh on exports of round tomatoes to Europe, the quota of 1200 tons of daily exports introduced in February has drastically slowed our activity despite the strong demand of this market."
Mustapha adds, "We have also not engaged in programs with our European and English customers on less common products, such as Asian eggplant, habanero pepper or margose, also known as "bitter cucumber." These are products that we master and that grow very well in the region of Sous Massa, and we must seize this potential next year, provided we find partners interested in these programs," adds Mustapha.
In return, Fructimoor has offset its position with other products whose export volumes have increased exponentially, according to Mustapha, "it is mainly early vegetables. The customer feedback is very positive on the majority of exported crops. Our presence in Morocco and Europe is a great asset because it allows us to follow the product from harvest to the last mile at the customer's end."
On his plans for the rest of the season, Mustapha says, "We will continue to work until July and will probably end our campaign with watermelon and grapes. We had decided not to export watermelon from Mauritania this year because it arrived too early and was not adapted to the European climate in February and March. We will, therefore, only export watermelon from Zagora, whose quality remains indisputable."
Mustapha says he is also turning to other markets, "We are meeting a need in West Africa and are developing our exports of onions, carrots, citrus, apples, and other fruits to these countries. We already have orders in hand and are working to better secure the quality of our exports and transactions and to control the logistical aspects."
The exporter concludes: "We are constantly looking for new customers and new partners but also financial investors among importers, commission agents, distributors of fruits and vegetables, and food manufacturers to develop together profitable agricultural projects in a win-win logic. In this context, I invite anyone with a small or large agricultural project or who is hesitating to invest in Morocco to take the plunge because there are still things to be done. Morocco's vocation to provide the best quality food is not questioned by this season, and our vocation at Fructimoor to provide advice and support is stronger than ever."
For more information:
Mostafa Mohattan
Fructimoor
Tel.: +33659752318 / +212656873543
Email: [email protected]
www.fructimoor.com