The weather in northern Morocco has stabilized after several episodes of strong winds, cold waves, and storms. With more favorable temperatures, the long-delayed peak blueberry harvest is expected to be concentrated in the first week of April, according to Zouhir Disouria, CEO of Global First Greenland.

“The crop has been able to recover after long periods of stress. Today the weather is excellent for blueberries, with pleasant warmth. We are seeing good flowering and generous bunches. The fruit is already available in large quantities and we are on track to finally reach the peak harvest of the season starting in the first week of April,” Disouria notes.

According to the executive, this peak production period coincides with a favorable market environment, despite the challenges of reaching customers in Russia and Asia. “Demand in Europe is strong, and order books are full. This translates into good prices, even higher than last season,” he states.

However, he warns that air freight costs have increased significantly to destinations in the Gulf and Asia—such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand—complicating shipments to these markets in the current climate. He adds that “China has absolute control of the Russian market due to its lower logistics costs compared to ours.”

© Zouhir Disouria

Regarding competition, Disouria maintains that Moroccan blueberries are facing pressure this season, especially from China and, to a lesser extent, from Egypt. “It’s still too early to assess the Egyptian competition, because production is only in its initial stages and volumes are still modest. But we are already starting to feel their pressure,” he says. In any case, he insists that the main factor behind the loss of market share is due to an exceptional situation: “It is primarily China that is taking market share from Morocco this season, but this is happening in a context where our production has been weakened by adverse weather conditions.”

According to their projections, the blueberry season in Larache, in northern Morocco, would extend until the end of May and even into June in the case of the so-called "strong varieties".