How to import avocados from Morocco

At a glance

Avocado season calendar from Morocco

Moroccan avocados fill the gap between the end of the Peru and Colombia season and the peak of Spanish and Israeli production. The window is short and moves with each year’s weather, so we confirm availability week by week. Indicative data for the 2025/26 season:

Exportable volume changes a lot from one year to the next. If you need fixed volume, agree a programme before October.

Growing regions and avocado varieties in Morocco

Moroccan avocados are grown almost entirely along the northern Atlantic strip, where the climate is mild and frost-free. You can see all the areas on our map of regions of origin for Moroccan fruit.

Gharb (Kénitra)

Fertile plains north of Rabat, with deep soils and irrigation. Most Hass plantations and the largest packing stations are here. We load in Kénitra.

Loukkos (Larache)

Mild Atlantic climate and sandy soils, shared with soft fruit. Fruit is slightly later, useful for extending the season to April and May. We load in Larache.

Varieties

• Hass: the bulk of exports. Rough skin that turns from green to dark purple as it ripens. It is the variety European retail asks for.
• Green-skinned (Fuerte, Bacon, Zutano): early in the season. Smooth skin that does not change colour; sold mainly to wholesalers and foodservice.

Typical sizes are 12 to 24 fruit per 4 kg box. Medium sizes (16–20) are the most in demand from retail; 12–14 goes to foodservice and 22–24 to promotions and processing. Full product details at Hass avocados from Morocco, wholesale.

EU import requirements for avocados

Avocados have no special EU regime, but each lot must meet plant health, origin, residue and marketing rules. All data was checked on 18/10/2026, and we link the official source for each one. For the general framework, see our guide to importing fruit and vegetables into the EU.

1. Phytosanitary certificate

Since December 2019, all fresh fruit from third countries needs a phytosanitary certificate, except five exemptions (pineapple, coconut, durian, banana and date) listed in Annex XI, part C, of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (accessed 18/10/2026). Avocado is not one of them. In Morocco it is issued by ONSSA after the lot is inspected at origin.

2. Border control: CHED-PP in TRACES

The importer or their agent pre-notifies the lot in TRACES with a CHED-PP before arrival at the border control post (Algeciras or Almería).

3. Preferential origin: EUR.1

Avocado grown in Morocco is a wholly obtained product. With an EUR.1 certificate (or an origin declaration by an approved exporter) it enters with the tariff preference of the EU–Morocco Association Agreement and its agricultural protocol (Decision 2012/497/EU, accessed 18/10/2026). Always check the code in Access2Markets.

4. Quotas and entry price

Avocado is not one of the products subject to the EU entry price system (tomato, cucumber, courgette, citrus and others).

5. MRLs for plant protection products

Maximum residue levels are set by Regulation (EC) 396/2005 and can be checked by substance in the EU pesticides database (accessed 18/10/2026). Ask the supplier for a multi-residue analysis of the lot or the plot; many retail customers also require a percentage of the legal MRL.

6. Marketing standards

Since 1 January 2025, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 applies (accessed 18/10/2026). Avocado has no specific standard: the general marketing standard applies (whole, sound, clean fruit, free from damage, sufficiently ripe) together with the mandatory indication of the country of origin. In Morocco, export conformity is checked by EACCE.

Logistics: temperature, mixed loads and shipping options

Avocados travel in our cool lane, at 5–7 °C and 85–90 % relative humidity. Below 4–5 °C, chilling injury appears (browning of the flesh and marks on the skin). Above 8 °C the fruit starts to ripen in the truck and arrives unevenly.

Ethylene and compatibility

• Avocado produces ethylene and is very sensitive to it. Even a little external ethylene is enough to trigger ripening.
• Compatible: clementine, mandarin and orange (similar temperature, low ethylene output). This is why it is the most common combination on our winter trucks. See how to import clementines and mandarins from Morocco and how to import Navel and Maroc Late oranges from Morocco.
• With separation: melon (produces a lot of ethylene). It can share the lane with pallets kept apart and good ventilation, never stacked against each other.
• Incompatible: green beans, soft fruit and leafy vegetables (different temperature, and sensitive to the ethylene avocado gives off).

Which shipment to choose

Indicative transit times from loading in Kénitra or Larache: Madrid, Lisbon or Valencia in 2–3 days; Bordeaux, Perpignan, Lyon or Paris in 3–4; Frankfurt, Munich, Milan or Rotterdam in 4–5.

Ripening at destination

Avocados are shipped firm. To sell them “ready to eat”, they must be ripened in a chamber with controlled ethylene for 3–6 days at 16–20 °C, depending on size and dry matter. If you do not have a chamber, let us know: we can adjust the harvest point or route the lot to a ripener at destination.

Avocado quality control at origin

Our team checks every pallet before it goes onto the truck. This way problems are found while they can still be corrected. Details of the protocol are at quality control at origin.

What we check

• Dry matter: sample per lot, by microwave or oven. It is the best indicator that the avocado will ripen well.
• Firmness: with a penetrometer or durometer; the fruit must arrive hard.
• Size: weight per fruit and uniformity within the box.
• Skin defects: abrasions, sunburn, lenticels, thrips damage.
• Internal defects: sample cut to check for vascular browning or chilling injury.
• Pulp temperature: between 5 and 7 °C at loading; the truck does not cool warm fruit.
• Packing: label with origin, size, class, lot and season.

What the buyer receives

A report per lot with photos of opened boxes, cut fruit and the finished pallet, pulp temperature and dry matter readings, and the number of the truck’s temperature recorder. You receive it before the truck crosses the Strait, so you can reject or reassign a lot in time.

Avocado costs and price from Morocco

The price of Moroccan avocados changes every week with supply from Peru, Colombia, Spain and Israel. That is why we do not publish fixed prices in this guide. You can see current supply at wholesale fruit prices from Morocco.

Components of the delivered cost

With avocado, the transport cost per kilo is low compared with the value of the product. That is why a shared truck makes sense even with one or two pallets. Request a quote with your exact destination via contact.

Common mistakes when importing avocados from Morocco

1. Buying at the start of the season without dry matter data. Immature avocado never ripens properly: it shrivels and becomes gummy.
2. Shipping it too cold. At 2–4 °C, as with soft fruit, chilling injury appears that only shows when the fruit ripens, at the customer’s site.
3. Loading it with green beans or leafy vegetables. Avocado ethylene turns them yellow on a four-day trip.
4. Mixing sizes in one order without agreeing it. Retailers work with fixed sizes; a mixed pallet sells at a discount.
5. Not planning for ripening. Receiving hard fruit without a ripening chamber means selling cheaply or waiting days.
6. Forgetting the CHED-PP pre-notification. Without it the lot is held at the port of entry.
7. Relying on one week’s supply. The Moroccan season varies; without an agreed programme you may run out of fruit in February.

Frequently asked questions about importing avocados from Morocco