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Morocco’s MY 2022/2023 citrus production is expected to fall 35 percent from the previous season due to water scarcity and unfavorable weather. Tangerine and mandarin production are expected to decrease by 34 percent from the previous year to 900,000 MT, while orange production should fall by 35 percent to 750,000 MT.

Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/93 on December 8, 2022. The notification concerns Morocco’s marketing couscous and pasta products. Comments are due no later than February 6, 2023. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/91 on November 2, 2022. The notification concerns Moroccan registration, import and enforcement relating to plant protection products. Comments are due no later than January 1, 2022. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

Morocco continues to import agricultural products derived from genetically engineered (GE) technologies for use in animal feed products. No GE products have been developed or commercialized for local production in Morocco. GE products are not allowed for human consumption.

With international funding to develop and implement biosafety regulatory systems drying up in 2019, Caribbean biosafety regulatory efforts remain in idle mode. The region is seeking further funding from the United Nations Environmental Program/Global...

Morocco has become the 15th-largest fruit exporter in the world by value. According to the most recent estimates (2019) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 66 percent of its land area is devoted to agriculture, with more than 7 percent devoted to fruit production.

Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/89 on October 27, 2022. The notification concerns Morocco’s list and limits of food additives authorized for use in primary products and food products, as well as the information to be displayed on their packaging. Comments are due no later than December 25, 2022. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

Morocco notified G/SPS/N/MAR/87 on October 17, 2022. The notification concerns Morocco’s maximum limits of contaminants in food and food products. Comments are due no later than December 16, 2022. Note that the Government of Morocco approved the Joint Order and published it in the Official Bulletin #7136 on October 20, 2022. An unofficial translation is included in this report.

Morocco’s hotel, restaurant, and institutional industry (HRI) started to recover in 2022, reflecting an increase in tourism arrivals as COVID-19 travel restrictions ease. According to Ministry of Tourism reports, Morocco received 3.4 million foreign visitors at the end of the first half of 2022, a 300 percent year-on-year increase (compared to a 57 percent decline in 2021).

The resumption of travel amid a waning COVID-19 pandemic is breathing much-needed fresh air into the Caribbean Hotel Restaurant Institutional (HRI) food service sector. Yet in 2021 sector sales still fell short of pre-pandemic levels.

The Government of Morocco has released its final wheat and barley production numbers for the 2022 crop, including 1.89 MMT of common wheat, 0.81 MMT of durum wheat, and 0.7 MMT of barley. The MY2022/23 wheat and barley harvest was down 67 percent compared to previous season due to severe drought.

The Caribbean retail grocery sector continued on the upswing in 2021. The region increased its imports of consumer-oriented agricultural products by 14 percent in 2021, reaching an estimated $2.45 billion. The outlook calls for moderate growth as the region continues on the path to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and markets such as Guyana and Turks and Caicos Islands emerge as larger players in the regional context.