The current rise in temperatures of 20 to 30% in production sites should generate more products and regulate the market, reassure professionals.
Foodstuffs
The cold causing the reduction in supply and the intermediaries are at the origin of the price increase. The market should soon be regulated with the rise in temperatures. 40% of tomato production is not yet harvested. The Moroccan origin fluctuates between 1.80 and 2.20 euros per kg exported.
Soaring food prices continue to be a topic of discussion and concern today. At the Inezgane wholesale market, the main commercial hub for fruit and vegetables throughout the Kingdom, a 32 kg box of tomatoes is priced at 122 to 160 DH, depending on the size and variety. Its scarcity due to the cold during the month of January caused a spike in wholesale prices, says a producer. “The operating areas recorded very low temperatures for 22 days during the month of January ranging from 1.5 to 2° at night which slowed down the ripening of the fruit and caused its scarcity”, he explains. This is how 40% of the tonnage of this campaign has not yet been harvested, says the producer. This situation, combined with the multitude of intermediaries in the market, has caused prices to soar on the retail market where tomatoes are sold at 12 and 13 DH per kg.
Bell pepper twice as expensive as tomato
In this conjuncture, producers and consumers are the two losing links in the chain. The producer price does not exceed 5 DH per kg while the production cost is 4 DH per kg. On the market, the tomato is not the most expensive product. Bell peppers record prices twice as expensive, reaching producer selling prices of around 13 DH.
The current rise in temperatures of 20 to 30% in production sites should generate more products and regulate the market, reassure professionals. For them, the market should not lack tomatoes during the month of Ramadan, but it is important to set a quota not to be exceeded for export for a good supply of the market. “The export market is what allows producers to get by. And for cheap prices at the local level, it is necessary that 50 to 60% of the production be exported”, underlines a professional. But in his opinion, “in times of high demand such as the Ramadan period, each producer must contribute in proportion to what he exported between October 1 and December 1”. “In a context of strong demand on the local market, exporters who have no commitment with packing stations must reserve their production for the local market.
The area of this category of professionals is estimated at 900 ha,” says the farmer. According to him, it is thus possible through this approach to reserve 700 tons per day for the local market. In the meantime, the export tomato market is booming.
The Moroccan origin fluctuates between 1.80 and 2.20 euros per kg exported, on the St-Charles market in Perpignan. On external markets, there too a drop in supply from all sources is the cause of this situation. World production being hampered by the cold. As a reminder, this rebound in prices comes following a long period of market decline from October to the end of December last. It is therefore on the commercial level of good export performance that is looming for exporters. For the round tomato variety, the upturn in prices should however have a relative impact. “60% of the tonnage of round tomato production has already been harvested,” says a farmer. It should be noted that Moroccan tomato exports have increased significantly over the past ten years.
the tomato represents 50% of Moroccan exports of fruits and vegetables. Regionally, more than 90% of tomato exports come from Souss-Massa. As a reminder, according to data from the Ministerial Department of Agriculture, the overall volume of Moroccan tomato exports recorded 670,000 tonnes during the 2021-2022 campaign, an increase of 19% compared to the previous campaign. During the 2020-2021 campaign, some 629,510 tonnes of tomatoes were exported for a value of 9.2 billion DH.