New data shows that Morocco’s raisin imports have increased from 560 tonnes in 2017 to reach 13,000 tonnes in 2022.
Agriculture-focused news outlet EastFruit shared the new data on Thursday, detailing that the country’s imports of raisins increased more than 20-fold over the past five years.
Recalling the importance of raisins in Morocco’s cuisine, the news outlet added that local production is no longer enough to meet domestic demand.
“Raisins are now the eighth most imported category among fruits and vegetables in Morocco,” Eastruit added, despite noting that the North African country is among the largest producers of grapes in Africa.
It is also one of the major exporters of fresh grapes as well as wines.
EastFruit attributed the increase in Morocco’s raisins imports to “tourism development and growing domestic demand,” stressing that local cuisine and gastro-tourism are “an important part of the sector.”
Major exporters of raisins to Morocco include Uzbekistan and Iran over the past few years, with products from the two countries accounting for over two-thirds of Morocco’s raisin imports in 2022.
India and Turkey are also major exporters of dried grapes, with South Africa and Chile also making the list with “insignificant” shares.
FreshPlaza, another agriculture-focused news outlet, said last year that Morocco produces 450,000 tonnes of grapes, of which 75% are for consumption while 21% are used for wine.
Unlike EastFruit, FreshPlaza said that Morocco remains a small producer for now compared to other markets, like China which produces 14.5 million tonnes of grapes, or Italy with 8.5 million tonnes.
