Morocco continues to conquer the UK market at an accelerated pace. According to EastFruit, a record volume of Moroccan blueberries was delivered to the UK market in the current season. Moreover, Morocco managed to surpass one of the largest exporters of this product – Spain – in terms of blueberry shipments to the United Kingdom.
Moroccan growers were able to establish sales of blueberries to the British market and increase their deliveries 29 times in just three years! Thus, in the MY 2022/23 (considering the period from July to June), the volume of Moroccan blueberry exports to the UK exceeded 11,000 tons, and the export revenue almost reached $60 million.
As EastFruit repeatedly wrote, exports of Moroccan fruits, vegetables, and berries to the UK intensified after Brexit. In the MY 2022/23, the North African country was able to deliver a record volume of raspberries to the British market, which gave Morocco the opportunity to bypass Spain and become the supplier No. 1 of this berry to the United Kingdom.
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Blueberries are in high demand among British consumers, and their imports have been growing year by year. Thus, in July 2022 – June 2023, around 60,000 tons of blueberries were imported to the UK, and the country ranked 5th in the list of their global importers.
Peru, Morocco, Spain, Chile, Poland, the Netherlands – this is not a complete list of countries exporting blueberries to the United Kingdom, and in the MY 2022/23, blueberries from 25 countries arrived in the UK.
Almost a quarter of the total imports are accounted for Peru, the leader in global blueberry exports. Next, until recently, was Spain, which ranks 5th in the ranking of the largest suppliers of blueberries.
Moreover, previously Spain also actively imported Moroccan blueberries, extending the season of its own sales. However, several years ago, exports from Morocco to Spain decreased, and a significant part of the Moroccan blueberry supplies began to be shipped directly to the consumer countries, including the United Kingdom.
Thus, exports of blueberries from Morocco to the British market was growing amid a decrease in supplies from Spain. As a result, Morocco’s share in the total imports into the UK increased to 19%, and the North African country rose to second place in the import structure.
For Morocco, blueberries are an important export product. A year ago, they ranked 4th in the country’s export revenue structure, and in the current year, in just six months, it moved to 2nd position.
The main streams of Moroccan blueberry exports are directed to Europe, and in the MY 2022/23, they were exported to 37 foreign markets. This brought Morocco $315 million in export revenue and gave the country the opportunity to rank 8th in the ranking of global suppliers of this product.
Unfortunately, Storm Bernard which hit Morocco, Spain, and Portugal last month caused quite significant damage to the plantations of early varieties of blueberries. Farmers are still assessing the losses, but it can already be predicted that the prices for berries will show a significant increase.
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