Morocco, a country that once exported tomato paste, has become a net importer of the product due to the decline in local production. The country now imports between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes of tomato paste annually, with the majority coming from Egypt, Italy, China, Portugal, and the United States. This is despite the country having an estimated 100,000 tonnes of industrial tomato production annually across 5,000 hectares. The reduction in local production is attributed to the requirement for "long life" varieties for export, which are not suitable for transformation into paste. Factories still in operation are now sourcing raw materials from cultivation contracts with farmers and are also vertically integrating by producing their own raw material on leased land.