HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Anouri
Morocco is moving towards regaining its position in the production and export chain of prickly pears, after years of sharp decline due to the cochineal insect that appeared in 2014 and caused the destruction of more than 140,000 hectares of this crop.
According to what the website "Freshplaza," which specializes in news of fruits and vegetables around the world, reported, Morocco is today experiencing a "renaissance phase" for this sector, driven by the introduction of new varieties resistant to the pest that previously destroyed production. The website quoted Said Agzou, the General Manager of "Valyour" company, as saying that the new varieties have achieved promising results in terms of yield, quality, and reduced water consumption, highlighting that the demand for prickly pears is constantly increasing, whether in the local or international market, especially for the food and cosmetic industries. The same speaker added that the current season, which runs from April to September, marks the beginning of a new phase that reintegrates the fruit into the market regularly after it was produced seasonally only in the summer, explaining that the transition has been made from preserving what remains of the production in isolated areas to the phase of organized agricultural investment. This came, Agzou explains, with the increasing commercial plantings that target export to European markets, including the Spanish market, with which "Valyour" conducted a successful commercial test during the past season, stating that the prickly pear is a candidate to become one of the most exported Moroccan fruits in the coming years. The Spanish website pointed out that a number of Moroccan actors have launched new parallel projects related to the fruit, especially the oil and seeds of prickly pears, which have high value in cosmetics and natural medicine, where they are betting on investing in this dynamic to rebuild a modern production chain that relies on quality and external marketing.
