Having been known as the source to fill the gap when the European offer is struggling, the Moroccan fresh produce industry seems to remain the poor relation to other sources such as Spain and the Netherlands, despite vast improvements in both standards and product quality. But Morrocan growers and marketing boards are fighting back against this reputation and the industry is fast becoming the UK marketplace’s best kept secret, with Moroccan produce slowly finding its place on the UK retailers’ shelves.
Since 2000, the country’s horticultural industry has been going from strength to strength and has gained British Retail Consortium, ISO, HACCP, GlobalGAP and Tesco accreditations to prove its worth. The country has also taken pride of place as major fresh produce event Fruit Logistica’s sponsor for two years running.
What’s more, Moroccan producers are planning to double fruit and vegetable exports to the UK in the next five years to take advantage of stagnating European production.
Currently exporting £314 million of goods to the UK, the aim is to double exports by 2015 and triple them by 2018.
“There is huge potential to increase fresh produce exports to the UK and EU,” said Younes Zrikem, managing director of tomato producer Groupe Azura, back in June. “There is a special momentum at the moment. EU agriculture is in crisis and there are changes to the Common Agricultural Policy in 2013. It’s our turn now. In Morocco, there’s a huge political will to push agricultural exports. Fresh produce exports will increase quite dramatically in the coming years.”
Moves are also underway to develop production in different areas of the country, such as the Moroccan Sahara, and to begin exporting products such as stonefruit that growers and suppliers do not yet sell abroad. And a Moroccan association for organics has also been created this year, with the aim of finding ways to certify organics for the European market.
Morocco’s traditionally strong and still major output is its citrus offer, with 450,000 tonnes of easy peelers and larger oranges being exported out of the Middle Eastern country in the 2008-09 season. The Moroccan citrus season starts in October and continues until April, with the Maroc Late orange serving the market until exports start from Valencia. According to insiders, the crop is looking good with higher volumes expected than last season, which was around 100,000t less than the previous two campaigns. Lack of rain during the growing season has resulted in smaller-sized fruit across the board, which could prove advantageous for marketplaces like the UK, which prefer smaller fruit.
The other big Moroccan export is tomatoes. This sector has seen a massive uplift in exports from 2005, with the 2005-06 season exporting approximately 250,000t compared to 325,000t last season. This year’s campaign, which started in mid-October and is expected to last until June when the UK and European tomato seasons kick in, has been slow to start because of floods in the Gharb region in February this year. But signs show that tomato production is picking up and hopes are that this year will make up for last year’s not so good season quality-wise.
But bad habits die hard and there still seems to be a stigma attached to Moroccan produce when it comes it trying to penetrate the UK marketplace. “Morocco has fallen into a certain grouping and affiliation with other North African countries when it comes to the UK and European markets,” says Driss Dehbi, managing director of Alternative General Trading. “Especially for tomatoes, Morocco has been seen as an alterative if your preferred source is short and this was just the way it was, regardless of the quality produced or the standards being adhered to. There is a general mistrust. But lately there has been a change and Moroccan growers or companies have been going direct to supermarket chains in the UK, especially for organic produce.”
But why is the UK marketplace reluctant to sing the praises of the Moroccan industry? Dehbi thinks that one reason is the fact that the industry has historically waited for business to come to them while the product loses quality, as well as growers not taking the initiative to communicate.
“Morocco has always had a very good quality of product,” he maintains. “But it has never been good with negotiation and marketing. When you don’t communicate your services, you get left behind. It is time for the Moroccan industry to talk to UK consumers and generate some trust in the product. We are qualified to do it, but this is the challenge in the Middle East. Our product is worth it, even if it is a little more expensive. After the privatisation of Maroc Export, people stopped marketing their product and took their eyes off the game, but understanding the new marketplace took time and now we are ready to win back our position.”
One of the biggest organic growers in Morocco, Biosouss, is fast becoming one of the top farms for UK retailers, as the climatic conditions lend themselves easily to organic production.
“We are finding that some supermarkets and companies in the UK are preferring to keep their Moroccan imports as a niche and taking advantage of their source not being well known,” adds Dehbi. “A lot of growers are avoiding the wholesale markets altogether and going direct to supermarkets in the UK to have control of their offer in the hope of a long-term partnership forming, especially with the global financial crisis hitting Russia particularly hard. This trend is taking over, with marketing platform Agri-Souss now dealing directly with the UK.”
Although good practice is now in place, Morocco still has a struggle on its hands in the future. The UK market is hard to deal with at the best of times, but barriers still remain in communication and lack of connections.
“The relationship between the UK and Moroccan marketplace is definitely worth working on,” concludes Dehbi. “But day-to-day communication is still a problem. You have to remember that Arabic is still Morocco’s first language, with its second being French. English is a very new language for most in the business world. The new generation is using English as a main language for business, but we still lack the conferences and exhibitions that get people together.
“But now the main thing we have to do is to convince the consumer and exporter that you can have Moroccan produce on your shelf at a top price.”
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