I recently visited Morocco, an incredible country that amazed me with its hospitality and rich history and culture. Although my initial purpose was more specific, I was pleasantly surprised by their advancements in agriculture and the opportunity to be just 24 hours away by truck from one of the world's largest markets: Europe.

I personally verified the origin of this Hass avocado. There are approximately 14,000 hectares planted with Hass avocados in Morocco, with around 8,000 hectares in production and an annual growth of 2,500 hectares. Many of the plantations are old, with large trees, but the newer ones are designed with 5x3 meter spacing and aim to control tree height to facilitate harvesting. Walking through the fields, I noticed their resemblance to avocado plantations in Chile.

The area with the most hectares and best conditions for avocado cultivation is located between Larache and Rabat, and it's also suitable for a wide variety of other fruits, such as blueberries. Although the desert image we have of Morocco might suggest water problems, the reality is that they have shallow wells that allow them access to this resource.

Their challenges? They still face challenges such as harvesting and caring for the fruit, as well as waiting for the avocado's dry matter to reach the minimum acceptable level for the market.

The harvest window in Morocco is similar to that of Spain, Portugal, and Israel, and is expected to begin in December with a dry matter content of 23%. However, some growers may be tempted to harvest earlier, which could affect fruit quality. The market window for Morocco appears to be from December to April, although this will depend on coordination between the different origins and importers.

A key challenge for Morocco is for the sector to unite and continue growing together in the markets, addressing commercial, agronomic, logistical, and event-related issues. In the past, Morocco supplied almost all of its production to Spanish companies, but this has changed, and Moroccan exporting companies now sell directly to distributors in several European countries, such as the Netherlands, France, and the UK.

In my opinion, Morocco has an incredible advantage being just one day away from the European market, allowing for almost immediate returns and minimizing problems with cold storage. With some adjustments and by working on various issues, Morocco has great potential to continue growing and improving each year. This is very similar to what is happening in Michoacán with the United States.

What will the next harvest be like? Although it's still some time away, the next harvest could be similar to the last, with a possible 30% increase in production. However, we'll have to see how the extreme Mediterranean heat will affect it in the coming weeks. An interesting detail is that Morocco not only exports avocados but also imports Peruvian avocados when it doesn't have its own production. About 10 to 15 truckloads per week? Interesting.

Local consumption of avocados in Morocco is attractive, especially in the north of the country, where avocado smoothies are very popular.

Morocco is a country with a promising future and great potential for growth in the European market.

Sebastian de la Cuadra Infante, CEO of Avobook, sdelacuadra@avobook.com