Morocco pauses new tomato export permits to African markets to cool prices at home
Shipments to Europe continue, but new licences for trucks heading south have been frozen while the government tries to bring down what households pay for a kitchen staple.
- New export authorisations to African markets suspended from the night of 4–5 November
- Trucks that already hold valid licences may complete their trips
- Exports to the European Union are not affected
- No end date has been given to exporters
Morocco has stopped issuing new permits to export tomatoes to other African countries, in a move aimed at keeping more of the harvest on the domestic market while prices stay high. The measure took effect overnight between 4 and 5 November, with exporters informed the evening before.
Lahoucine Aderdour of FIFEL, the inter-professional federation for the fruit and vegetable sector, confirmed the decision to Reuters. A government source described it as a way to strengthen supply to the national market. Trucks that already carry valid licences can still complete their journeys, so the effect at the border will be gradual rather than immediate.
Why prices are high
Producers point to two pressures. Yields in Souss-Massa, the country's main growing region around Agadir, have been lower this season, and the cost of fertiliser and fuel has risen. Both reduce how much reaches local markets and push up what it costs to grow and transport it.
The decision follows comments by Economy and Finance Minister Fouzi Lekjaa a few days earlier that the government would regulate exports of food products when needed to protect consumers.
Europe is spared
Deliveries to Europe, Morocco's most valuable market for fresh tomatoes, remain authorised. The European Union imported about 503,000 tonnes of Moroccan tomatoes in the 2025–2026 campaign. Buyers in African markets supplied by overland trucks from Morocco are the ones affected by the pause.
This is not the first such step this year: Morocco also restricted some shipments to African markets in April. The new suspension is described as temporary, but no date for lifting it has been communicated.
What to watch
The key signals in the coming weeks will be wholesale prices in Casablanca and Agadir, and whether the authorities extend the pause or reopen permits once the winter harvest builds up.