Morocco is in the position of net importer of agricultural products, whereas before it was a major exporter. In this way, the Kingdom has opened the door to European agribusiness in terms of added value and job creation.
Morocco is increasingly losing steam in terms of exports, becoming an importer of certain agricultural products such as citrus juices, tomato concentrate and other canned vegetables and condiments. In recent years, the phenomenon has spread to potatoes.
The kingdom, which used to produce more than 2 million tons of potatoes of all kinds, now imports a large amount of processed products such as frozen potato chips, flakes and tuber powder. However, during the last decade, exports appeared to stabilize at lower levels. Thus, of the approximately 30 exporters of the last three decades, only 3 or 4 continue to supply external markets, reports L’économiste .
According to a professional source, the operations are carried out only to fill a part of the seed imports under the temporary admission regime. For some, the lower profitability of PDT compared to other products such as tomatoes, peppers, green beans, chili peppers and others, would be the cause of the situation. But others believe that it is due to the certification deficit and the lack of diversification of varieties for export. However, potato cultivation has developed considerably in recent decades, with the introduction of high-yielding varieties such as Nicola and Spunta, Désirée, Timate, Roseval, Diamant and others.
However, in the absence of a processing industry, Morocco imports pre-cut and classified French fries from the EU and Egypt, totaling 10 000 tonnes under free trade agreements. The same applies to potato flakes and mortadella powder.
By: Bladi.es
