Morocco continues to increase its fresh lettuce exports to France, with the volumes in the first three months of the current year reaching record high, according to EastFruit. In addition, Morocco also exported fresh lettuce to the UK for the first time after a three-year break.
As previously reported by EastFruit, Morocco keeps raising and diversifying its agricultural exports, inclusive of fresh lettuce. In 2018-2019, Morocco exported about 900 tonnes of fresh lettuce annually, with the russian federation accounting for the largest part of those volumes.
However, exports to russia fell sharply in 2020 amounted almost to zero in 2021. As a result, this has negatively affected total export volumes, which, however, have again started growing since 2021.
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After reducing fresh lettuce exports to russia, Morocco has focused on the French market, which could be considered a rather interesting alternative.
France is one of the key importers of fresh lettuce globally and ranks second in the global ranking. This makes the French market more valuable and prospective for Moroccan exporters.
Over the past five years, Morocco has increased its fresh lettuce exports to France almost 10 time to 254 tonnes, registered just in January-March 2023.
Of course, for French importers, Morocco is still a rather small supplier, as about 80% of France’s total imports of fresh lettuce come from Spain. Nevertheless, Morocco is already the fifth largest exporter of these products to the French market.
Exports to the UK should also be mentioned. In 2018 and 2019, the UK imported 210 and 300 tonnes of fresh lettuce from Morocco, respectively. However, COVID-19 and lockdowns negatively affected the HoReCa segment, and the demand for Moroccan lettuce fell sharply.
In 2023, the situation changed, and Morocco has come back to the UK market, with about 90 tonnes of exports in January-March. EastFruit has already reported that trade with the EU has become more difficult for the UK importers after the Brexit. Thus, they can see Moroccan traders as a reliable alternative, and Moroccan exports to the UK, inclusive of fresh lettuce ones, will most likely continue their growth.
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