Morocco Supplies 42.4% of EU Watermelon Imports From Non-EU Countries
Morocco supplied the EU with 148,950 tonnes of watermelons in the first half of 2026, accounting for 42.4% of imports from non-EU countries. Rising shipments are intensifying competition during Spain’s harvest and adding pressure to producer prices.
Morocco strengthens its lead among external suppliers
Morocco remained the European Union’s largest watermelon supplier from outside the bloc in the first half of 2026. The EU imported 148,950 tonnes from the country between January and June, 14% more than in the same period of 2025, according to Eurostat data cited by Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture and reported by EFE Agro.
Moroccan fruit represented approximately 42.4% of the 351,672 tonnes of watermelons purchased by EU countries from non-EU suppliers during the six-month period. In volume terms, more than four out of every ten tonnes entering the bloc from third countries therefore came from Morocco.
External imports are only part of the EU market
The ranking covers trade with countries outside the EU and does not include sales between member states. That distinction is significant because Spain, Italy and Greece are major producers within the bloc. Morocco can consequently lead the external-supplier ranking without necessarily selling more fruit than every European production region during each part of the season.
For example, Almería sold more watermelons in the EU than Morocco between January and May 2026, according to figures published by Hortoinfo. The comparison also underlines the importance of the marketing calendar: competitive pressure depends not only on annual or half-year volumes, but also on whether imported fruit reaches buyers while the Spanish harvest is being sold.
Spanish growers point to price pressure
The expansion of Moroccan shipments has contributed to tensions in Spain. Andrés Góngora, secretary-general of the agricultural organization COAG, told EFE Agro that imports had helped saturate the market and reduce the prices received by growers. José Cánovas, head of the melon and watermelon sector at Proexport, said imports can weigh on sales when they overlap with the Spanish season, whereas deliveries arriving after the local harvest do not create the same pressure.
Spanish ministry quotations show that the average farm-gate price of watermelon was €24.1 per 100 kilograms between August 17 and 23, equivalent to roughly €0.24 per kilogram. The low-price environment also affected Moroccan exporters. In early July, some operators suspended shipments because the prices available in Europe no longer covered transport costs amid abundant Mediterranean harvests.
Competition among third-country suppliers increases
Morocco was not the only external supplier to expand sales. Watermelon volumes arriving from Brazil increased by 39.4% year on year in the first half, while shipments from Senegal rose by 24.9%, according to the figures reported by EFE Agro. The source material does not provide their absolute volumes, but their growth adds another competitive element to the EU market.
For producers and traders, the figures point to a market shaped by both supply volume and timing. Morocco’s 14% increase secured a dominant share of extra-EU imports, but the suspension of some shipments in July shows that higher volumes do not guarantee profitable sales. Spanish growers face the greatest exposure when external supply coincides with their campaign, while importers benefit from a broader supplier base but must manage the risk of oversupply and rapidly declining prices.
