Morocco’s tomato exports are growing fast, with both opportunities and challenges, says Fatiha Charrat, deputy general director at Delassus
Duroc’s Cheribelle snacking tomato
In the 2023/24 season, Moroccan exporter Delassus shipped over 100,000 tonnes to 57 countries. Thanks to its wide variety of products like snack tomatoes, citrus fruits, grapes, avocados and flowers, the company is strengthening its presence in the global market, explains Fatiha Charrat.
What sort of growth are you seeing in the tomato category at Delassus?
Fatiha Charrat: Duroc, a branch of Delassus that focuses on tomatoes, plans to grow its production by 10% in 2025, aiming for 75,000 tonnes of snack tomatoes. Today, Duroc has a 28% share of the UK market and 31% in Germany.
Tomato exports from Morocco have grown steadily, reaching 690,000 tonnes in 2023/24. Over half of these were non-round tomatoes, and exports increased by 19% compared to the year before. This helped Morocco become the fifth biggest tomato exporter in the world.
Is the UK increasingly becoming a key market for Moroccan tomatoes?
FC: Yes, for the third year in a row, Morocco has become the UK’s second largest supplier of tomatoes, ahead of Spain. In 2024, Morocco sent 122,720 tonnes of tomatoes to the UK, 68% of which were snack tomatoes. This made up over 30% of all tomato imports into the UK. Morocco now exports tomatoes to 46 countries, and the UK alone takes 18% of those exports.
At first, Morocco was known for low prices, but now its tomatoes are famous for their quality. Farmers work carefully and professionally, and the sector has improved a lot. Instead of only sending tomatoes in bulk to nearby countries like France, Morocco now offers packaged, ready-to-sell tomatoes to the UK, Germany and other northern European countries all year long.
Is production expanding? What’s the focus when it comes to varieties?
FC: Yes, farmers are growing tomatoes in new areas like Dakhla and are also planting other fruits like berries to meet market needs. While details about new varieties are still limited, the focus is on creating tomatoes that resist disease (especially ToBRFV) and produce good yields with high quality.
The Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) has caused big problems for growers, with losses of 15–20% during the 2023/24 season.
What are the main challenges at the moment? Are labour costs rising in Morocco?
FC: In April 2024, the government, employers and unions agreed to raise the minimum wage for farm workers (called SMAG) by 10%. It will be done in two steps: a 5% raise in April 2025 (bringing the daily wage to about 93 MAD or 2,255 MAD per month), and another 5% in April 2026. The goal is to get closer to the national minimum wage used in other sectors (SMIG).
At the same time, companies like Duroc are offering extra benefits to help workers. These include bonuses, free transport for workers living far away, on-site meals, medical services, and education programs for workers’ children.
What about climate change? Are growers concerned about the impact?
FC: Yes, climate change is a serious problem. Rising temperatures and water shortages could reduce crop yields. Morocco has had seven years of drought. In places like Agadir, production would have suffered without major investment in seawater desalination.
Today, about 40% of the water used in the region comes from the Souss desalination plant, which is very important for farming. But desalinated water is three times more expensive than well water, which makes it hard for farmers financially.
