The Moroccan berries and soft fruit season continues, as growers recover from a difficult summer marked by Storm Bernard, which damaged a large proportion of plants. Zouhir Daissoria, a fruit grower based in the Larache region, reports on the situation.
Zouhir says, "Generally we're happy with demand and prices for all products, which rewards great efforts this summer and heavy losses we suffered after storm Bernard. The situation differs for each product, but in general, demand and prices are good despite a drop in volumes and yield compared with last season.
Raspberries, the storm's first casualty because of its timing, which coincided with an advanced stage of production, are recovering with good prices, says Zouhir. We've passed peak harvest and are at the end of the first production cycle. Yields are down almost 40%, mostly due to the storm."
Strawberries, which have become less and less attractive to Moroccan growers, due to the drop in demand in recent years and tough competition from Egypt, are also enjoying satisfactory demand, according to Zouhir. "We are in the 5th week of strawberry harvest. The market is good, with satisfactory prices. We're having problems with sizes, deformed fruit, and discoloration. Volumes are significantly lower than last season, as a number of growers have decided to convert their strawberry acreage to other fruits."
Finally, the blueberry season, which is experiencing great interest from growers and a big step forward in acreage, looks promising. Zouhir says, "We're in the first week of the blueberry harvest. Prices are good at the moment, and we're hoping they'll improve further. We don't yet know what the yield will be like, but all the indicators are green."
For more information:
Zouhir Daissoria
BLDIOFROOT
Tel.: +212661902434
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]