Greenhouse vegetables are an important product of Moroccan foreign trade, peppers being one of the most exported categories from Morocco and the second in terms of export earnings after tomatoes.
Thanks to its favorable climate and developed agricultural infrastructure, Morocco has rapidly developed its greenhouse industry. According to the specialized portal EastFruit, Morocco has the largest greenhouse areas in Africa and is one of the world leaders in this field.
In addition, growing vegetables in protected soil allows Moroccan farmers to grow, for example, peppers throughout the year and, therefore, to guarantee export sales every month, explains the same source.
Indeed, Moroccan pepper exports have continued to rise and have increased by 45% over the past five years. Thus, in 2022, Morocco occupied the sixth place in the world ranking of the largest exporters of peppers, and Moroccan exports were even higher than Turkish exports.
Besides, exports usually reach their peak between January and March, and in the first three months of 2023, Moroccan exporters have already reached 56,000 tons of peppers, which is a good start for this year’s campaign.
Just like other vegetable segments, Moroccan pepper exports are mainly focused on European markets.
Spain and France are the main importers of peppers from Morocco, their combined share reaching 65%. Morocco is also the leading exporter of peppers to Spain and ranks second among the main suppliers to France. The Kingdom is also an important exporter for Germany and the Netherlands, ranking fifth and third respectively in their list of suppliers.
Europe is not the only destination elsewhere. Moroccan peppers are also actively imported by African countries. In 2022, more than 11,000 tons of Moroccan peppers were shipped to Mauritania, of which Morocco proved to be the main supplier of these vegetables.
It is also worth mentioning the rapid growth of Moroccan pepper exports to the UK.
The UK accounts for just 2% of Morocco’s total annual pepper exports, but shipments have seen the fastest growth. In just two years, Morocco has multiplied by 10 its exports to the United Kingdom due to Brexit and its consequences on the British market, with the need to seek new non-EU suppliers.