From Agadir and Dakhla to Europe: Azura Group showcases its agricultural expertise at Madrid’s Fruit Attraction trade fair

As the agricultural sector faces growing challenges related to water, sustainability and competition in European markets, Morocco is taking part in the 18th edition of the “Fruit Attraction” trade fair in Madrid through several companies active in the fruit and vegetable sector. Among the most prominent participants is the Franco-Moroccan “Azura” group, which carries out a large part of its production in Morocco to supply European markets.

The 18th edition of “Fruit Attraction,” one of the leading international events for the fruit and vegetable sector, opened this Tuesday, October 6, in the Spanish capital, with around 2,500 exhibiting companies from 78 countries taking part. The fair, which runs until October 8, is expected to attract more than 121,000 professionals and specialists, serving as an international platform that brings together the sector’s various stakeholders, connects supply and demand, and enables participants to explore new business opportunities, plan campaigns and enter new markets.

The fair is a strategic tool for boosting trade and developing professional expertise in a global environment marked by competition and dynamism. It also gives companies and professionals an opportunity to expand their activities and explore new markets and partnerships.

Morocco is represented by several companies, including the Franco-Moroccan “Azura” group, which takes part in this international event every year. At this edition, the group is showcasing its products, led by cherry tomatoes—its historic flagship activity—as well as its model based on agricultural production in Morocco and its links to distribution networks in European markets.

Speaking to the “Yabiladi” website, the group, founded in 1988, said that “Azura” now generates €550 million in revenue, markets nearly 190,000 tonnes of cherry tomatoes in Europe each year and employs more than 20,000 people.

According to the same source, although the group’s name—its operations are concentrated mainly in Dakhla and Agadir—is associated with cherry tomatoes, “Azura” has gradually expanded its activities to include vegetable farming, aquaculture, nurseries and biological pest control. The group currently operates 54 farms covering a total area of 1,271 hectares, including more than 1,200 hectares of greenhouses.

Water and innovation at the heart of the sector’s challenges

Agadir is the group’s historic stronghold, where it operates 835 hectares of agricultural land. Over the past two decades, it has expanded its activities to Dakhla, where its investments exceed 1.5 billion dirhams and where it employs more than 7,000 people. It has also developed an aquaculture business there, with a 200-hectare farm and an approved purification facility for exports to the European Union.

Amid successive years of drought and growing water stress, the group said that the needs of its farms in the Agadir region “are now fully met with desalinated seawater.”

The group is also working to develop new agricultural solutions, notably in cooperation with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, to find local alternatives to imported coconut fiber, which is used as a growing medium. It is also working on “tomato varieties selected for their resistance to disease, yield, taste and ability to adapt to local conditions.”

While most of its production is concentrated in Morocco, France is one of its main commercial and logistical bases in Europe.

In Perpignan, the group operates a logistics platform managed by its subsidiary “Disma International,” from which tomatoes arriving from Morocco are distributed to the French and European markets, and where its commercial, logistics and marketing operations are consolidated.

For “Azura,” the Madrid trade fair, which brings together producers, distributors, importers and buyers from around the world, is a showcase for presenting its products, meeting partners and monitoring changes in the fruit and vegetable market.

The group’s participation comes at a time when agricultural companies exporting to Europe are facing challenges that go beyond production and volumes to include “water management, sustainability, the requirements of European markets and growing competition within the fruit and vegetable sector.”