Morocco’s 2025–2026 avocado export season has begun under mounting challenges, as exporters struggle to compete with Israeli and Peruvian supplies that have flooded European markets with low-priced produce, industry sources told Hespress.
According to professionals in the sector, Israeli exporters have saturated European shelves with smooth-skin avocado varieties such as Zutano and Fuerte, offering them at “aggressively low” prices.
At the same time, Peru’s extended export presence has made European markets “unable to absorb additional volumes,” particularly in early autumn when Moroccan shipments traditionally ramp up.
The start of Morocco’s export campaign, which usually begins in mid-September, was delayed until early October, slowing the flow of smooth varieties and dampening sales momentum.
Exporters say the weak start could postpone shipments of the popular rough-skin Hass variety, a mainstay of Moroccan exports to Europe, if market saturation persists.
Industry data show that Morocco’s avocado season typically runs from mid-September to April, but large quantities of unharvested fruit remain in orchards.
Compounding the challenge, the country is expected to record a sharp drop in production to around 80,000 tons, compared with 130,000 tons last year, due to the extreme heatwave in August, which damaged crops across key regions such as Gharb and Larache.
Producers and exporters are responding with cautious optimism, hoping European prices will recover in the coming weeks as demand rises and Peruvian supplies taper off.
They stress that Moroccan avocados retain a competitive advantage in quality and taste, factors that could help recover lost ground once the market stabilizes.
The current difficulties were a central topic at the second Morocco Avocado Conference held recently in Larache, where exporters discussed strategies to improve coordination and manage export timing more efficiently.
Avocado cultivation now spans several Moroccan regions and provides an estimated 40,000 seasonal jobs. Yet the sector remains controversial domestically, with environmental groups warning about the crop’s impact on groundwater resources, while professionals and government officials insist that modern irrigation practices and regulatory oversight keep the expansion sustainable.
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