Comments from internet users have been pouring in on social media. Many are noticing the rising price of round tomatoes and expressing surprise that a kilogram now costs as much as 18 dirhams at some retailers.
Wholesale prices are considerably lower. At Rabat’s wholesale market, tomatoes are selling for 13 dirhams per kilo. In Casablanca, the latest weekly price bulletin puts the wholesale price at 9 dirhams per kilo.
A region responsible for 75% of winter supply
Where do Morocco’s tomatoes come from, and more importantly, why is the volume falling? Speaking to Le360, Amine Amanatoullah, a producer and exporter of early-season vegetables in the Souss-Massa region, first points out that the winter growing season runs from November to the end of May. During this period, the region is the main supplier to the domestic market.
“About 75% of the tomatoes arriving on the markets in winter come from the Agadir region,” he says. A drop in production there therefore affects the entire country.
“We had many heatwaves in August. The rise in temperatures disrupted crops,” Amanatoullah explains. This delayed production, and not just for tomatoes. He says the same problem has affected vegetables across the board.
Seed varieties are another part of the problem. According to Amanatoullah, the round tomato varieties that have been in circulation for the past two to three years are not resistant to disease. At the same time, viruses have taken hold in the region. Farmers therefore “need a seed variety that can withstand these pests while also ensuring good yields.”
Some farmers have responded by changing what they grow. “When they realized that this variety did not exist, they abandoned round tomatoes and turned to other crops,” Amanatoullah says. Others went further, uprooting plants while they were still growing and switching to another crop, or planting tomatoes again.
Yields cut almost in half
The impact is clear when measured per hectare. The past two or three growing seasons have seen a decline in yields.
“We usually harvest between 180 and 200 tons per hectare. Today, we do not exceed 90 to 100 tons. The difference is considerable,” the producer says.
Production per hectare has therefore fallen by roughly half. For farmers, this automatically drives up production costs per kilo, since they continue to bear the same expenses while harvesting less.
The decline in yields has also coincided with a sharp rise in the cost of agricultural inputs. Amanatoullah points first to fertilizers.
“We used to import many products from Saudi Arabia for NPK (a fertilizer containing three essential nutrients for plant growth: nitrogen (N), which promotes foliage development; phosphorus (P), which supports root growth and flowering; and potassium (K), which strengthens plants overall and helps them resist disease). These products, together with those supplied by OCP, allowed us to obtain harvests at an affordable cost,” he explains.
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That balance has since been disrupted. The producer points to the situation in Gulf countries and, above all, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Insurance costs for ships passing through the area have increased, while vessels carrying fertilizers are taking longer to arrive.
“This delay has caused shortages of several products on the market,” he explains. Higher demand has added to the pressure, prompting sellers of NPK materials to raise their prices.
“Production costs have increased considerably, particularly because of fertilizers and the active ingredient,” Amanatoullah says.
Diesel fuel is also weighing on farmers’ finances. “Higher fuel prices have made transportation more expensive. Getting the final product to its destination costs more than before,” he adds.
The producer gives an indication of the investment required. “A farmer needs 450,000 dirhams to get one hectare started, while the cost of producing tomatoes reaches 850,000 dirhams per hectare,” he says.
In his view, tomato growers face two major disadvantages: unsuitable seed varieties and persistently low yields.
From the farm to the retail shelf, four or five intermediaries, sometimes more
In Inezgane, tomatoes sell for between 200 and 300 dirhams per 30-kilo crate. At 250 dirhams per crate, that works out to an average of 8.33 dirhams per kilo. This is the starting price in the supply chain. The price then increases at every stage.
“The person distributing these tomatoes adds at least 2 dirhams per kilo. They have to cover transportation, a market fee and losses on unsold produce. They also pay, for example, to rent a storage facility,” Amanatoullah explains.
The transporter delivering the tomatoes to other cities adds another markup, “of up to 3 dirhams per kilo.” A second distributor then steps in, adding around 2 dirhams more. Finally, there is the retailer.
“Their margin is between 2 and 3 dirhams per kilo,” the producer says. Once these costs and markups are added to the initial price of 8.33 dirhams, the kilo reaches consumers at around 17 to 18 dirhams.
But the main factor sustaining the price increase is the shortage of produce at the source. According to Amanatoullah, restrictions have now been imposed on exports to Africa. Controls on shipments to Europe have also been tightened.
“The aim is to keep more produce on the domestic market,” he explains.
These measures have not been enough, however. “Even with these measures, there is a shortage at the farms. Supply is down,” the producer says. He stresses that “the situation affects all vegetables, whose production has been delayed by the heat.”
What can be expected in the coming days?
Tomato production also depends on the number of flower clusters each plant produces. “When there are fewer clusters, the impact on production is immediately visible,” Amanatoullah explains. The August heat slowed their formation.
The outlook will therefore depend on weather conditions. “If the weather becomes calmer and stabilizes, we will have better production. Good weather means more flower clusters,” the producer says.
He adds that the production decline did not come as a surprise. “We had anticipated it because we could see it in the orchards,” he says.
Despite the difficulties, he remains measured in his outlook. “Farmers are always optimistic. We keep working and doing our best to achieve better results,” Amanatoullah concludes.
