Morocco stopped issuing new export licenses for tomatoes and other farm products bound for African markets from the night of November 4 to curb domestic prices, which had reached 17 dirhams a kilogram, foreign trade minister Omar Hejira said, according to Moroccan news site Hespress as cited by Mauritanian news site Madar. Licenses issued before the decision remain valid, and new ones will be issued gradually from the week of November 9, he said.
Analysis: The freeze comes two weeks after Mauritania's commerce ministry said tomatoes were back at 500 old ouguiyas, or 50 MRU (€1.11), a kilogram in Nouakchott after a price spike, Sahara Medias reported. The gradual restart suggests a short interruption rather than a ban, although Morocco gave no date for a full reopening. Shipments to Europe were spared, Moroccan news site Bladi reported. Mauritania's reliance on Moroccan vegetables has not been published. Nouakchott wholesalers are typically the first to feel a gap in supply, with food prices already up 12.5% over the year to September, according to statistics agency ANSADE. ANSADE's November consumer prices, due in December, should show any effect.
Source: Madar, Madar, citing Hespress (November 8, 2026), From the night of November 4 to 5, 2026 and Early November 2026; Sahara Medias, Sahara Medias, 'Le ministère du Commerce : les tomates de nouveau disponibles sur les marchés de Nouakchott au prix de 500 MRO' (25 Oct 2026), October 2026 (communiqué reported October 25); ANSADE, ANSADE, Note mensuelle de l’Indice National des Prix à la Consommation (INPC), septembre 2026, September 2026