The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has drafted a pest risk assessment for imports of fresh eggplant (Solanum melongena) from Morocco.

The document is available to review until May 28, 2021.

Moroccan exports of this commodity doubled from 2019 to 2020, according to data from the International Trade Centre.

In 2020, Morocco's eggplant exports largely went to Mauritania with almost 3,500 metric tons (MT), Spain at 250MT and France with 260MT. Export values to Mauritania were US$808,000, to Spain they were $398,000 and France at $230,000.

In 2019 the United States import of eggplants represented 15.5 percent of world imports for this product.

The U.S. imports eggplant mainly from Mexico, Honduras and Canada with values in 2019 at $60,600, $9,440 and $5,700, respectively. In 2019, eggplant imports from Mexico were almost 65,600MT, from Honduras at 10,500MT and Canada with 2,400MT.