Moroccan season for early vegetables is becoming difficult

While growers and exporters worked hard to prepare for the 2023-2024 season, Mother Nature did not cooperate. In addition to structural problems such as drought, the country recorded a record temperature of 50°C, followed by the strongest earthquake in a century. How will this affect the season? Mostapha Mohattan, a Moroccan fruit and vegetable exporter, gives his view. "Last year the weather conditions were already difficult, but we still managed to limit the damage and end a fairly satisfactory season. This year things look even more complicated," Mostapha warns. "First of all, we had an extreme heat wave accompanied by strong and scorching winds. The Souss Massa region, from where most early vegetables are exported to Europe, was affected. Greenhouse crops were particularly affected, with devastating consequences for certain products and growers. We cannot quantify the extent of the damage, some growers lost some of their acreage and others lost all and had to replant." ...