HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Anouri
Spanish agricultural sources have confirmed that Morocco poses the biggest challenge to the Spanish avocado market, given the major boom the sector is experiencing.
Victor Loki, the general manager of the Spanish company "Trops" specializing in subtropical fruits, explained that Morocco represents the main competitor for avocado production because the production season coincides with Spain and the lack of sufficient infrastructure for annual expansion, which creates pressure on prices in the European market. Loki said that the company has strengthened "its presence in new areas for avocado production by expanding its headquarters in Tavira, Portugal, and its readiness to open a new center in the Guadalhorce Valley in Cadiz, in addition to acquiring a warehouse in Nules, Castellón." Loki explained that "he expects avocado production to increase by between 20 and 30 percent, which strengthens the company's position in a European market that grows annually by 9-10 percent," adding that "the future of the sector will depend on value-added products such as oils, cosmetics, and biopolymers extracted from avocado seeds." Loki stressed at the end "the importance of moving towards automation and robots to address the labor shortage," explaining that "improving quality, productivity, and expanding the company's operational capacity are the basic pillars for ensuring the competitiveness of the Spanish sector in the face of major competitors such as Morocco," according to "Revista Mercados".
