Morocco plans to double its sweet potato exports by 2022

In recent years, Morocco has increased its sweet potato exports by an average of 67% per year. By 2022, the Kingdom has doubled its supplies to a record 1,200 tonnes, while it exported only 90 tonnes in 2017. Oriental fruit.

2022 became the first year in Morocco’s history to export sweet potatoes without restrictions – every month. In addition, the country was able to extend the peak of its supply, which was mainly in June-July. Morocco also started 2023 with a new record, as sweet potato exports almost quadrupled to 130 tonnes in January.

In 2017 almost 100% of the exports were delivered to the German market, but then the deliveries practically stopped, the media explained. The combined share of Spain and France in the structure of Moroccan exports is very low, although these two countries are often represented among the largest importers of other products. Regarding Morocco’s sweet potato exports, the share of Spain and France has not exceeded 4% since 2019.

Last year, the top three consumers of Moroccan sweet potatoes included the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, the latter importing them from Morocco for the first time. The Netherlands has significantly increased its imports of Moroccan sweet potatoes (almost nine times since 2021), one of the reasons for launching projects for their production in the country with the help of experts and investors.

As for Middle Eastern countries, the volume of Moroccan sweet potato supply is relatively low, but it is growing. In 2022, the region imported about 9 tonnes of sweet potatoes from Morocco, with Qatar and Bahrain the main consumers.