Morocco's exports of seafood products have reached a volume of 883,000 tons (T) and a record value of 28 billion dirhams in 2022, said Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests (Department of Maritime Fisheries), Zakia Driouich.
Citing provisional data available from Morocco Foodex, Driouich said in an interview with MAP on the occasion of the 6th Halieutis Fair to be held on February 01-05 in Agadir, that these exports show an increase, compared to 2021, of 13% in volume and 16% in value.
The increase in volume has focused on the main export products, namely canned sardines (+9% or +12,000 T), frozen sardines (+43% or +67,000 T) and fishmeal and oil (+36% or +52,000 T), she said.
She added that the rise in export turnover is the result also of the increase in sales abroad of these three products (canned sardines, frozen sardines and fishmeal and fish oil) respectively +33%, +71% and +93% due to the increase in their volume and their average price (+23% for canned sardines, +20% for frozen sardines and +42% for fishmeal and fish oil)
In addition, Driouich stressed that "the diversity of the food industry of our Kingdom has enabled Morocco to occupy a place of first rank in world trade in fisheries products," placing it as the main world exporter of canned sardines and semi-preserved anchovies and one of the world leaders in the export of octopus.
