Morocco: Potato Output Doubles to 2.19 Million Tonnes Since 2000 as Yields Reach 32.8 t/ha
Key takeaways
- 2.19 Mt of potatoes harvested in Morocco in 2024 (FAO)
- 2x growth in national output since 1.09 Mt in the year 2000
- 32.8 t/ha average yield in 2024, up from 18.0 t/ha in 2000
- 67,000 ha planted in 2024, close to the level of the 2000s
Why it matters
- For farmers
- Plan area first: yields near 32 t/ha leave little upside, so secure irrigated land and imported seed of Nicola or Spunta early.
- For traders
- Track planted area each season: a 10,000 ha swing moved Moroccan output by about 400,000 t between 2023 and 2024.
- For suppliers
- Target seed and irrigation offers at farms of 0.5–3 ha on the Atlantic plains and in Tadla, Al Haouz and Fès-Saïss.
60-second summary
Moroccan potato growth has come almost entirely from better yields rather than new land. The FAO series shows national output at about 2.2 million tonnes in 2024, double the level at the turn of the century, while productivity climbed from 18 to nearly 33 tonnes per hectare. Planted land stayed roughly between 60,000 and 67,000 hectares over the period. Because yields are now on a par with Spain, extra volume must come from planting and irrigating more fields. The 2023 season shows the downside: with roughly 10,000 fewer hectares, the crop slipped to 1.8 million tonnes before recovering by about a fifth. Farms are small, typically half a hectare to three hectares, and high-value varieties rely on imported seed. That matters for seed exporters, input suppliers and buyers watching North African supply. One caveat applies: area figures here are derived from production and yield data, and the national press gives only broad ranges.
Morocco harvested 2.19 million tonnes of potatoes in 2024, according to FAOSTAT data published by Our World in Data. In 2000, the country produced 1.09 million tonnes. Output has therefore doubled in 24 years.
Moroccan media give a similar order of magnitude. In November 2023, the business weekly Finances News Hebdo put annual production at 1.7 to 2 million tonnes. It gave the planted area as more than 60,000 hectares. Potatoes then covered 25% of the national vegetable area.
Yield did the work
Average yield rose from 18.0 t/ha in 2000 to 32.8 t/ha in 2024, according to FAOSTAT. The area moved much less. Dividing output by yield gives about 60,500 hectares in 2000. The same calculation gives about 67,000 hectares in 2024. Agence Ecofin, citing FAO, also reported close to 67,000 hectares for 2024.
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Moroccan yields are now close to southern European levels. In the same dataset, Spain averaged 32.1 t/ha and Egypt 30.1 t/ha in 2024.
Growth has not been smooth. Output reached 1.95 million tonnes in 2014 but fell to 1.80 million tonnes in 2023. The yield in 2023 was still 31.6 t/ha. The dip therefore came mainly from a smaller area, about 57,000 hectares by calculation. The rebound in 2024 was a rise of about 22% in one year.
Small farms on irrigated plains
Production is concentrated on the Atlantic plains and in irrigated inland zones, according to Finances News Hebdo. These include: Al Haouz, Tadla and Fès-Saïss. Agence Ecofin also lists Loukkos, Doukkala and the coast between Kénitra and Agadir.
Most farms grow between 0.5 and 3 hectares, the weekly reported. Growers depend on imported seed for high-value varieties. Common varieties include: Nicola, Spunta, Désirée, Timate, Roseval and Diamant. The same 2023 report said prices had risen from 4–6 dirhams per kg to 8–10 dirhams per kg.
Morocco ranked fifth among African producers in 2024, according to the FAO figures. Egypt led with 8.08 million tonnes. Algeria, Ethiopia and South Africa followed.
Why it matters
Morocco doubled its potato output without adding much land. The gain came from yields, which now match those in Spain. Future growth therefore depends on how much land growers can plant and irrigate each season.
The 2023 dip shows the risk. A loss of about 10,000 hectares cut national output by roughly 400,000 tonnes compared with 2024. For seed exporters, the reliance on imported seed for high-value varieties remains the key market signal.
Photo: Potatoes grown in the Sahara, Algeria (not Morocco) (illustrative). IRRIGATIONDZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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What next
FAOSTAT has not yet published 2025 data. National press gives only ranges of 1.7–2 million tonnes. The next test is whether planted area stays near 67,000 hectares.
Sources
- Finances News Hebdo, 13.11.2023 — https://fnh.ma/article/actualite-economique/pommes-de-terre-filiere-maroc
- AgriMaroc.ma (Agence Ecofin, données FAO), 02.06.2026 — https://www.agrimaroc.ma/pomme-de-terre-le-maroc-parmi-les-cinq-premiers-producteurs-africains/
- FAOSTAT via Our World in Data, Potato production — https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/potato-production
- FAOSTAT via Our World in Data, Potato yields — https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/potato-yields
Linked in this material
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- Morocco
