This year, Morocco's avocado sector has been hit hard by two heatwaves that caused major losses across production regions. Ahmed Bouljid, general manager of Entrepôt Frigorifique Lexus, told Fresh Plaza «the damage is real and significant, on the order of 80,000 tons». Despite this, Bouljid stressed there will be no shortage in the market. Thanks to new plantations established two or three years ago now reaching maturity, the final harvest is expected to range between 95,000 and 100,000 tons, close to last year's levels. Losses, however, were uneven across the country. Bouljid explained that producers in the Gharb region were the most severely affected, both because of the inland location of their farms and because many of the avocado trees there are more than a decade old, making them especially vulnerable to heat stress. By contrast, farms closer to the coast, particularly around Larache, experienced less damage. Bouljid also accused intermediaries of exaggerating the impact to push prices higher. «It's in their interest for farmers to delay the harvest as much as possible, to strain the market and obtain higher margins», he noted. As a result, the season is likely to begin with higher prices than last year. Bouljid said, «We're already seeing increases of 15 to 20 percent in tree prices compared to the same period last year. The losses suffered and the pressure on producers are fueling this increase. However, once the campaign officially begins, the market will tend to stabilize».
