The next Moroccan avocado season is developing well, with larger volumes and better sizes expected, says Abdellah Elyamlahi, president of the Moroccan Avocado Association (MAVA).

Elyamlahi says: “We are making good progress and the outlook for the coming season is good. The season starts in week 38/39 for Green Skin varieties and week 43 for Hass varieties, which is a normal timing. Flowering has been smooth and the fruits are now gaining weight. We expect an excellent harvest and better size distribution.”

Weather conditions have been mild so far, says Elyamlahi: “Temperatures and winds have not had a major impact. During this production phase, Chergui (hot wind from southern Morocco) usually causes losses, but this year the impact was minimal. We are hoping for the best until harvest.” As a reminder, last season, Storm Bernard caused a loss of 10% of the avocado volume in October, just before harvest.

Last season was also characterized by an abundance of smaller sizes, which caused difficulties for Moroccan exporters. “This was due to an excessive fruit density per tree,” explains Elyamlahi. “We were able to avoid this problem this year and expect a concentration of 16, 18 and 20 sizes in the coming season.”

In terms of volumes, MAVA expects Moroccan production to maintain its pace and record a harvest record for the second year in a row. Elyamlahi says: “We finished last season with 60,000 tons, a record. Next season we expect 80,000 to 90,000 tons.”

“The area under cultivation has not increased significantly compared to last season and amounts to about 10,000 hectares. The forecast increase in volume is due to the maturity of the young trees, as well as improved sizes and better climatic conditions,” concluded the producer representative.

For more information:
Abdellah Elyamlahi
Moroccan Avocado Association (MAVA)
Phone: +212 678732391
E-mail: (email protected)