Marrakech - Morocco is an important player in the market for both table olives and olive oil. Regarding table olives, Morocco is the second exporting country worldwide. Spain remains the market leader. For olive oil, Morocco is the fifth or sixth largest exporter. The Moroccan company SACIA is responsible for a large part of the national olive export.
SACIA was founded in 1999 when the first machine for the production of olive oil was purchased. In 2002, a second machine was added. At present, the Moroccan olive oil export amounts to 800,000 - 850,000 MT, of which 230,000 MT comes from the Marrakech region. "We have our own production and we purchase the rest from business partners. About 10% to 20% of the required olives is from our own production," says SACIA General Manager Abdelghani Anou.
SACIA's olive oil is mainly sold as bulk product. "We can offer small pack options, but the technology is not complete. We are looking for European partners in this area. Currently, we are working with Italian machines, because the Italians have a lot of experience with olives," according to Abdelghani Anou.
Italy is not only an important supplier of machines, but is also the most important export destination for Moroccan olive oil. "Italy is very important to us and is even more important in those years that their own production is too small. Then we can fill the gap," says Anou.
