Fruit production in North Africa

13 April 2026

If DjazAgro, the trade fair that for more than twenty years has brought together in Algiers operators, technologies and companies from the agri-food industry, is gaining increasing importance, it is also because North Africa’s role in the global fruit and vegetable market is growing. Behind the rise of a fair like this, there is a region that, despite strong internal differences, is counting more and more in fruit production, exports and product processing.

When we talk about North Africa, however, we need to be careful not to compress everything into a single image. There is not one North African agricultural model. There are countries that focus on exporting large volumes, others that have specialised in high-value crops, and others still that remain important above all for certain supply chains linked to arid climates. Egypt and Morocco are the two most evident cases, but alongside them there are Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, which help to better understand the variety of the regional picture.

Egypt, Morocco and the growing weight of North African fruit

Egypt is the most immediate case to look at, because the numbers alone explain its central role. According to the USDA, the country is among the world’s leading producers and exporters of citrus fruit, especially oranges. Added to this are the official figures released in 2026 by the Egyptian government: in 2025 agricultural exports reached 9.5 million tonnes, with a value of 11.5 billion dollars, and citrus topped the ranking with around 2 million tonnes. In other words, when we talk about North African fruit reaching international markets, a very substantial part of the story goes through Egypt.

To understand what this weight really means, it is enough to think of one of the most recognisable images of Mediterranean agricultural trade: Egyptian oranges shipped towards the Gulf, Eastern Europe or Asian markets. Behind that product there is not only large agricultural availability, but a supply chain that has learned to handle volumes, quality, controls and different markets. This is also why Egypt is often cited as one of the most solid cases in the region’s fresh produce sector.

Morocco tells a different story, but one that is just as significant. If Egypt stands out for production scale, Morocco stands out for its ability to build a modern and specialised fruit export sector. The USDA notes that the country has become the fifteenth-largest fruit exporter in the world by value, and that between 2016 and 2021 exports more than doubled, exceeding 1.5 billion dollars. Driving this growth were above all berries, but also citrus, avocados and watermelons. Morocco’s specialisation makes one thing very clear: North Africa matters not only because it produces a lot of fruit, but because in some cases it manages to sell it well, quickly, and into demanding markets. It is not only production, in other words: it is the supply chain and logistics that make success possible. Producing oranges or berries is one thing, but it is quite another to deliver them regularly and with consistent quality to foreign markets, where transport time, the cold chain, packaging and continuity of supply make the difference.

Dates, processed products, and water scarcity: the toughest challenge

Alongside Egyptian citrus and Moroccan berries, North Africa should also be read through a crop that is symbolic of arid territories: the date. For FAO, the date palm value chain is strategic in the Near East and North Africa area, because it affects rural income, food security, and national economies. This is therefore not a marginal or folkloristic production, but a structural value chain for many areas of the Maghreb and the Middle East.

The interesting point is that dates clearly show how important it is to look beyond fresh fruit. A date can be sold as such, but it can also enter a broader value chain made up of pastes, ingredients, confectionery, snacks and other derivatives. FAO has stressed this point for years: to truly strengthen the sector it is not enough to increase production, it is necessary to improve quality, reduce losses in the field and post-harvest, adopt new technologies and develop value-added products. This is a decisive step, because it explains where an important part of the future of North African fruit and vegetables will be played.

Libya also fits into this picture, albeit with a different weight compared to Egypt and Morocco. Official sources from the Libyan Ministry of Agriculture show that the country has a specific structure dedicated to the development of fruit crops, with attention to improving production, managing marketing seasons and, in particular, citrus fruit. We are not looking at a giant of regional exports, but neither at a marginal territory: Libya is fully part of North Africa’s agricultural geography and retains a role within the Mediterranean and arid agriculture of the region.

The problem, in Libya as in much of North Africa, is that any discussion about growth runs up against the limit of water. FAO defines the Near East and North Africa area as the most water-insecure in the world. In the region, agriculture absorbs about 85% of freshwater resources and renewable water resources per capita are less than one tenth of the global average. This is a fact that completely changes the perspective. It means that fruit production depends not only on fertility or market demand, but on the ability to irrigate well, use less water, reduce waste and protect crop quality under increasingly harsh climatic conditions.

For this reason, North Africa is interesting today not only for what it produces, but for the type of challenge it is facing. On the one hand there are Egyptian citrus, Moroccan berries, and arid-climate crops widespread across the Maghreb. On the other hand there are the most difficult issues: water scarcity, salinity, post-harvest losses, the need to process a greater share of the harvest. It is in this fragile but dynamic balance that we understand why the region is taking on an increasingly relevant role in the global fruit and vegetable market.