Morocco named among EU peach and nectarine import origins as purchases head to 50,000 tonnes
The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service expects EU peach and nectarine imports to reach 50,000 tonnes in 2026/27, up 22.4% from about 40,834 tonnes, and lists Morocco among the supplying origins alongside South Africa, Turkey and Chile. The increase comes despite a European crop forecast 11.5% higher at 3.49 million tonnes. The bloc remains a net exporter, with shipments of 135,000 tonnes projected.
The European Union is expected to import 50,000 tonnes of peaches and nectarines in the 2026/27 marketing year, up 22.4% from about 40,834 tonnes in 2025/26, according to the annual stone fruit report published by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. Morocco is listed among the origins supplying that volume.
An analysis of EU purchases by origin through May 2026 identifies Morocco alongside South Africa, Turkey and Chile as named suppliers to the European market. The Moroccan outlets Telexpresse and Machahid24 reported the FAS listing, presenting it as confirmation of Morocco's place among the bloc's stone fruit suppliers.
Imports grow even as the European crop expands
The higher import forecast comes despite a larger European harvest. FAS estimates the EU peach and nectarine crop at 3.49 million tonnes in 2026/27, against 3.13 million tonnes the previous season, an increase of 11.5%.
FAS attributes the growing reliance on imports to two factors: demand for out-of-season fruit and the need for specific varieties, sizes and quality grades that domestic supply does not always cover. That combination keeps a window open for southern hemisphere and Mediterranean origins even in seasons when European volumes are ample.
European consumption is forecast at 3.40 million tonnes in 2026/27, up from 3.03 million tonnes a year earlier. The report links the increase to the larger European supply and to sustained demand during the heatwaves recorded across the continent.
Spain, Italy and Greece anchor supply
European output remains concentrated in Spain, Italy, Greece and France. Spanish production is the largest in the bloc and is expected to rise 6% year on year, coming in 14% above its five-year average.
- Spain: production up 6% year on year and 14% above the five-year average
- Italy: about 926,410 tonnes, supported by an expected recovery in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto
- Greece: roughly 750,000 tonnes
Those three origins, together with France, account for the bulk of the volume that will move through European packhouses and retail programmes over the coming season.
The EU stays a net exporter
Despite rising imports, the EU remains a major exporter of peaches and nectarines. FAS forecasts shipments of 135,000 tonnes to markets outside the bloc in 2026/27, compared with 132,194 tonnes the previous season. The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine and Norway are the leading non-EU destinations. On those numbers, European exports run at close to three times the volume of imports.
The scale of the two flows sets the context for Morocco's position. At 50,000 tonnes, total EU imports equal about 1.4% of the bloc's own 3.49 million tonne crop, and that pool is shared among several origins. Growth for non-EU suppliers therefore depends on the early and late windows of the season and on meeting the variety, size and quality specifications flagged by FAS, rather than on competing with Spanish and Italian fruit at the height of the European harvest.
For importers and category managers, the FAS numbers point to a season with ample European fruit and a still-expanding, but small, complementary import channel. For Moroccan exporters, the practical question is how much of the 50,000 tonne pool they can hold against South Africa, Turkey and Chile, all of which are working the same off-season slots.
