Morocco

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US bans certain citrus imports from Morocco over medfly risk

Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is not known to be established in the US, except for Hawaii, and would pose a serious threat to US agriculture.

Detections of live Mediterranean fruit flies (medflies) on cold-treated clementines from Morocco has led to a ban on import of tangerines, clementines, mandarins (Citrus reticulata), and sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) from that country into the US with effect from February 8, the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) has announced.

The ban will apply until APHIS and Morocco’s national plant protection organisation investigate and take “necessary actions to mitigate the pest risk.” 

APHIS said that prior to the Federal Order prohibiting such imports, tangerine, clementine, mandarin, and sweet orange fruit could be imported into the US if subjected to cold treatment and inspection upon arrival. “However, on January 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspections at the port of entry in Philadelphia detected live medfly larvae on commercial consignments of cold-treated clementines (Citrus reticulata) from Morocco.

Image of medfly (Ceratitis capitata) larva: by Daniel Feliciano, GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

The agency said it is also prohibiting “overland in-bond transit movements of tangerine, clementine, mandarin, and sweet orange fruit south of 39° latitude and west of 104° longitude in the US. These prohibitions apply to all importation and movement, including commercial and non-commercial cargo, passenger baggage, international mail, and express courier shipments.”

According to the Federal Order, medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is not known to be established in the US, except for Hawaii, and would pose a serious threat to US agriculture.

Source: APHIS Prohibits Importation of Certain Citrus Fruit from Morocco due to Mediterranean Fruit Fly

Image of a female Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata).: By Alvesgaspar under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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Morocco’s citrus exports on the rise

The USDA post in Morocco forecasts a 5% upturn on the previous year for the country’s orange production for a total of 918,120 tons from a planted area of about 55,804 ha. It anticipates orange exports of about 135,000 tons.

Rejuvenation of citrus orchards, improved irrigation, and increases in harvested areas are big factors in expected increases in Morocco’s citrus output and exports for the 2015/16 marketing year.

And the country’s citrus exports are also set to rise, mostly due to high demand in Russia market, as tensions mount between Moscow and Ankara, the USDA says in its 2015 Morocco Citrus Annual Report.

“The Moroccan citrus industry is planning to continue its strong focus on the Russian market this season, but warns coordination will be needed to avoid poor prices,” the report says.

The USDA post in Morocco forecasts a 5% upturn on the previous year for the country’s orange production for a total of 918,120 tons from a planted area of about 55,804 ha. It anticipates orange exports of about 135,000 tons.

Tangerine/mandarin exports are in line for a 10% boost to about 380,800 tons on the back of a 5% production increase to 1,055,241 tons from 62,181 ha.

Exports of lemons and limes should come in at about 7,200 tons. Morocco’s lemon and lime production is forecast to expand 8% to 35,500 tons on a planted area of 3,750 ha.

Source: USDA GAIN 2015 Morocco Citrus Annual Report

Image of box of Maroc brand clementines sold in Canada: “يوسفي مغربي” by عمرو بن كلثوم – Own work. Licensed under LGPL via Commons

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Jebal, the renowned quality from Morocco

This year, Jebal became the number one importer of Moroccan fresh fruit and vegetables into the GCC countries.

This year, Jebal became the number one importer of Moroccan fresh fruit and vegetables into the GCC countries.

“We have enjoyed a 70% jump in Moroccan produce this season, with a huge market awareness of it,” confirmed Driss Dehbi, co-founder and CEO of Jebal. “In the past few years Morocco was considered more as just a gap filler in the market.” But he said that now the country has become a major supplier, in particular for tomatoes and vegetables, with continuous and growing volumes over the full season. Other regions of origin are South America, North America, Europe and Australia.“Quality is more important than price, and the Middle Eastern distributors are giving more and more preference to Moroccan produce nowadays.”

Tomatoes are the main product imported in the UAE. They are appreciated for their good quality and affordable price. “We are supplying 100 to 120 tons per week of tomatoes from Morocco, imported by air.” Citrus fruit is the second top category imported, followed by mixed fruit and vegetables. Jebal supplies the different market segments of the Gulf, from wholesale markets to modern retailers (like Carrefour, Union, and Aswaq), as well as re-export channels and its own specialty stores in Abu Dhabi. 

 Hamad Al Art and Driss Dehbi

Developments in other food divisions

Jebal’s CEO confirmed the firm’s expansion in other areas of the perishable food business, as it boasts its own large cooling facilities. Jebal also distributes red meat, frozen chicken, seafood and processed fruit and vegetables, as well as other grocery items like juices and confectionery. “The food service sector in the UAE is indeed expanding, with food channels becoming more structured,” Dehbi said. He confirmed that the level of quality demanded by the market is gradually improving. Jebal is also investing in Morocco, in packing operations. “Our goal is to have direct relations with the growers and improve the efficiency of the supply chain,” he said. Jebal complies with the HACCP food security standard and is pushing hard for local authorities to establish import standards. “Currently there are no obligatory standards for fresh produce coming onto the market,” Hamad Al Art and Driss Dehbi Dehbi said. He believes produce not complying with such standards should not be allowed to enter the country.

PE

This interview first appeared on page 49 of edition 139 (Sept/Oct 2015) of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read more of that issue online by clicking on the image of it here:

 

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Spanish concerns about EU imports of Moroccan tomatoes

Spanish tomato growers have stressed the importance of separate minimum entry prices for round and cherry tomatoes entering the EU market.

Spanish tomato growers have stressed the importance of separate minimum entry prices for round and cherry tomatoes entering the EU market.

Fepex – the Spanish federation of associations of producers and exporters of fruit, vegetables, flowers and live plants – said having just one value for all types of tomatoes makes it difficult to rigorously monitor the market and implement safeguard clauses in trade agreements when necessary. Cherry tomato prices can be up to four times that of round tomatoes.

In a press release, Fepex said that entry prices for tomatoes from Morocco will be one of the main issues on the agenda at the next meeting of the European Commission’s tomato forecast working group, to be held Thursday June 4.

It said that at the meeting it will also propose that the Commission set a market withdrawal price for cherry tomatoes separate to and higher than the current one for tomatoes in general – €18.30/100kg – because this amount is “clearly insufficient to manage market crises in this segment, which endures strong competition from Moroccan imports.” Fepex said that last year farmgate prices for Spanish tomato growers were down 14.5% on the previous year.

Commission sees no signs of market disturbances

In February, the Commission said it closely monitors quota limits for preferential access conditions for tomato imports from Morocco under the bilateral agricultural trade agreement with that country.

“Based on surveillance data from the national customs authorities, imports in October 2014 were 23.4% higher than in October 2013; whilst in November 2014 imports exceeded by 13.5% those of November 2013. Volumes imported under preferential conditions are within the thresholds set by the agreement.

“Member States have reported a positive trend for the prices of tomatoes produced in the EU since August 2014. The EU average price currently remains above the average prices of the last three years. The Commission does not have any evidence of serious market disturbances which would justify applying the safeguard measure foreseen in the Agreement,“ said Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan in reply to a written question from Spanish MEP Gabriel Mato.

Mato had asked if the Commission was considering taking action to avoid upsets to the EU market that might be caused by the increase in Moroccan tomato imports.

“This increase in imports threatens the market access of tomatoes grown in Spain, France and Italy due to the fact that, in those countries, farming is subject to much stricter social and food safety conditions than are in place in Morocco, placing farmers in those countries at a clear disadvantage,” Mato had written.

Sources:
Fepex
Parliamentary question
Graph & table

Background: Commission statement on tomato import rules

 

 

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Azura puts taste first, testing 350 varieties

TOM maroc AZURA _001_01_X1_0009

“We strive to offer our clients an integrated service, from production to packaging”, explains Odile Lavail, marketing and communication manager for Azura Group. “Recently we have concentrated on research. We are trying to find the tomato varieties with the best taste.” For this reason, Azura is cultivating about 350 tomato varieties in its greenhouse. Next year, it will choose the best 40 varieties from them and, finally, just 1-2 will be selected for further production. “There are many evaluation criteria – such as ease of production, high plant yield, pest and disease resistance – but delicious taste remains dominant,” said Lavail. “Therefore, we often organize tastings for consumers.” Azura is a French-Moroccan group of companies and one of the largest private producers of tomatoes in the world, with 68 farms and nearly 900 ha of agricultural land. It grows tomatoes and other produce in Morocco and exports them to France and other countries. “We are satisfied with our penetration in European markets and not expanding it but instead focusing on providing the best service,” Lavail said. “That’s our strategic target at the moment.”
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