Organic: Moroccan Argan Oil Products
The Curious Story of Argan Oil
A Miracle in the Moroccan desert
The Argan tree is indigenous to Morocco and grows virtually nowhere else in the world. The natives have long used Argan Oil as a culinary ingredient and an essential component of their beauty regime. The tree has been around for millions of years, but its forest has declined due to years of misuse and neglect, losing more than 600 hectares of forest every year. To protect the Argan forest, UNESCO declared the area a “Biosphere Reserve,” classified as “World Human Heritage” in 1998.
Mythical
Trees are grown only
in Morocco:
The Argan tree’s substantial ecological, economic, and cultural importance in southwestern Morocco has been widely studied by botanists, agronomists, and ethnologists. Argan trees have been around for millions of years. They grow only on a narrow strip of semi-desert between Morocco’s Atlantic coast and the Atlas Mountains as rolling hills of Argan orchards perfectly adapted to its ecosystem. This endemic tree covers an area of more than 800,000 hectares on the red soils of southwestern Morocco, between Agadir, Taroudant, Tiznit, and Essaouira. This place is the only location in the world where the Argan trees grow, the source of the famously miraculous, rich, and extraordinary oil.
The civilization of the Argan tree
The Argan tree is a symbol of life in Morocco. It is a living example of perfect symbiosis between man and nature, known as the “Tree of Life.” This mythical tree is the pivot of a traditional agricultural system that provides forest, fruit, and fodder while ensuring the purity of water and air, the fertility of the soil, and the life of flora, fauna, and humans. It has allowed the development of a unique civilization where one always navigates between archaism and modernism.
Scruffy and squat, with gnarled trunks twisted into braids by the unrelenting winds, Argan trees can live for 200 years. Here, they form the backbone of a complex and fragile ecosystem that Moroccans are learning to leverage and harvest with respect. Argan trees are remarkably drought-resistant, going dormant when necessary and then bursting alive with leaves when the water eventually returns.
This perennial tree is famous for its tremendous ability to resist drought and combat desertification. Perfectly adapted to the climates and soils of the region, its physiological and ecological characteristics make it the perfect tree to fight against erosion and desertification, which seriously threaten southern Morocco.
The Argan ecosystem represents the last natural barrier against the Sahara Desert in the southwest. Its protection is a matter of life or death for the flora and fauna of this region, including the people who have lived here for millennia.
But other threats weighing on the Argan tree itself are becoming urgent, not only to protect the Argan tree but also to reforest the areas from which it has disappeared.
Argan Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:
Morocco and the United Nations celebrate International Argan Day on May 10th every year, starting from 2021. This celebration marks the promotion of the Argan tree as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity and an ancestral source of sustainable development.
The proclamation of this international day follows the adoption of a resolution presented by Morocco to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on March 3, 2021. The resolution was adopted by consensus of all Member States, and Morocco mobilized the international community around the protection and development of the Argan tree. It represents international recognition of Morocco’s efforts to protect and enhance the Argan tree, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has launched an ambitious development program aimed at planting agricultural Argan on an area of 10,000 hectares.
Many attend to grow Argan out of Morocco
The Argan tree has remained loyal to its original homeland in the Moroccan region of Sous, despite attempts to grow it in similar environmental conditions. Moroccan Jews carried the fruits of the Argan to plant in the Negev desert and Wadi Araba, and there have been other attempts to grow the tree in Mexico and California, but it has not produced fruit despite its growth.
Morocco has maintained a monopoly on the production of this tree, which is in great demand globally, but faces increased pressure on cultivated areas that are dwindling annually due to difficult climatic conditions, overgrazing, and the collection of heating wood. Despite several initiatives to expand the scope of its cultivation and protect it from overexploitation, the challenges facing the Argan tree continue to persist.
The international craze for this liquid-gold oil
The Moroccan Argan grove was classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1999, but it is currently in continuous decline, resulting in a reduction of the potential production of Argan oil. Meanwhile, the demand for this oil, which is renowned and appreciated both in Morocco and abroad, has increased considerably.
The prices of Argan fruits quickly jumped to unprecedented levels due to the high demand, particularly from famous cosmetic companies that invested millions in converting and extracting the oil. The monthly production of the oil became measured in thousands of liters, most of which were exported abroad. According to official figures in Morocco, the volume of argan oil production in 2020 amounted to about 1,400 tons, compared to 400 tons in 2010 and 36 tons in 2002.
International cosmetic companies have entered the global market for Argan oil, with France being the largest importer at about 64%. The European Union accounts for 86% of total Moroccan exports. These major companies often sell their products at high prices, taking advantage of the excellent reputation of the original oil.
There’s a lot more at stake than just beautiful skin with Argan oil:
This UN resolution recognizes the contribution of the Argan sector in the implementation of the 17 objectives of the 2030 agenda and the achievement of sustainable development in its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. It highlights the role of this sector in the empowerment and emancipation of rural women, the strengthening of the solidarity economy, and the eradication of poverty and human development through the support and promotion of the role of cooperatives active in the Argan sector.
This desert miracle, touring the communities where the fruits of the argan tree are harvested and talking to the commercial producers and women-run cooperatives that deliver this singular product to the world.
