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Climate change threatens Morocco’s Avocado production

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Avocado is a very water-demanding crop, and drought conditions faced by the country due to climate change have become a threat to its production. Morocco faced severe drought in 2022, the worst in three decades

According to the horticulture analytics platform East Fruit, Morocco is likely to set a new record in Avocado exports in the 2022-23 season. The North African country has already set a record by exporting 35,500 tonnes of avocado, between July and January, which is 60% more than the same period last season. It needs to export only 7,000 more tonnes before June to break the record.

Morocco’s climate is ideally suited for avocado production with export earnings touching almost $90 million in 2021. With booming Avocado output, over the last five years, Morocco jumped to the ninth position at the end of 2022 from the world’s 12th largest exporter of Avocado. Europe is the biggest market for Moroccan avocados. Almost 40% of exports go to Spain, followed by France, the Netherlands, and Germany.

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Drought conditions faced by the country due to climate change have become a threat to  Avocado production as it faced a severe drought in 2022, the worst in three decades. This induced calls from environmental associations to end the cultivation of water-intensive crops like avocados and melons.  Subsequently, In September 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry in charge of the budget decided to halt irrigation subsidies for water-intensive crops like avocados, watermelon, and citrus fruits despite their potential to earn foreign exchange.