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Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n
Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n
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\n Argan seeds are placed in a basket after getting cracked at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n
Argan seeds are placed in a basket after getting cracked at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n
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\n A woman cracks argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n
A woman cracks argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Long a staple in local markets, argan oil today is in luxury hair and skin care products lining drugstore aisles worldwide. But its runaway popularity is threatening argan forests, with overharvesting piled on top of drought<\/a> straining trees once seen as resilient in the harshest of conditions.<\/p>\n Hafida El Hantati, owner of one of the cooperatives that harvests the fruit and presses it for oil, said the stakes go beyond the trees, threatening cherished traditions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must take care of this tree and protect it because if we lose it, we will lose everything that defines us and what we have now,\u201d she said at the Ajddigue cooperative outside the coastal town of Essaouira.<\/p>\n A forest out of time<\/p>\n For centuries, argan trees have supported life in the arid hills between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains, feeding people and animals, holding soil in place and helping keep the desert from spreading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A forest of argan trees is visible in Agadir, Morocco, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n A forest of argan trees is visible in Agadir, Morocco, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The spiny trees can survive in areas with less than an inch of annual rain and heat up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). They endure drought with roots that stretch as far as 115 feet (35 meters) underground. Goats climb trees, chomp their fruit, and eventually disperse seeds as part of the forest\u2019s regeneration cycle.<\/p>\n Moroccans stir the oil into nut butters and drizzle it over tagines. Rich in vitamin E, it\u2019s lathered onto dry hair and skin to plump, moisturize and stave off damage. Some use it to calm eczema or heal chicken pox.<\/p>\n \n Argan based products are displayed for sale at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Argan based products are displayed for sale at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n A woman pours argan seeds in a machine that extracts oil, at at a cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n A woman pours argan seeds in a machine that extracts oil, at at a cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n But the forest has thinned. Trees bear fewer fruit, their branches gnarled from thirst. In many places, cultivated land has replaced them as fields of citrus and tomatoes, many grown for export, have expanded.<\/p>\n Communities once managed forests collectively, setting rules for grazing and harvesting. Now the system is fraying, with theft routinely reported.<\/p>\n What\u2019s wrong with the forest<\/p>\n But a forest that covered about 5,405 square miles (14,000 square kilometers) at the turn of the century has shrunk by 40%. Scientists warn that argan trees are not invincible.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause argan trees acted as a green curtain protecting a large part of southern Morocco against the encroaching Sahara, their slow disappearance has become considered as an ecological disaster,\u201d said Zoubida Charrouf, a chemist who researches argan at Universit\u00e9 Mohammed V in Rabat.<\/p>\n Shifting climate is a part of the problem. Fruit and flowers sprout earlier each year as rising temperatures push the seasons out of sync.<\/p>\n \n Goats climb and feed on an argan tree in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Goats climb and feed on an argan tree in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n An argan tree, which has been affected by drought, stands in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n An argan tree, which has been affected by drought, stands in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A fruit hangs on an argan tree, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n A fruit hangs on an argan tree, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Goats that help spread seeds can be destructive, too, especially if they feed on seedlings before they mature. Overgrazing has become worse as herders and fruit collectors fleeing drier regions encroach on plots long allocated to specific families.<\/p>\n The forests also face threats from camels bred and raised by the region\u2019s wealthy. Camels stretch their necks into trees and chomp entire branches, leaving lasting damage, Charrouf said.<\/p>\n Liquid gold, dry pockets<\/p>\n Today, women peel, crack and press argan for oil at hundreds of cooperatives. Much makes its way through middlemen to be sold in products by companies and subsidiaries of L\u2019Or\u00e9al, Unilever, and Est\u00e9e Lauder.<\/p>\n But workers say they earn little while watching profits flow elsewhere. Cooperatives say much of the pressure stems from climbing prices. A 1-liter bottle sells for 600 Moroccan dirhams ($60), up from 25 dirhams ($2.50) three decades ago. Products infused with argan sell for even more abroad. Cosmetics companies call argan the most expensive vegetal oil on the market.<\/p>\n \n Kharra Tlaytmass, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Kharra Tlaytmass, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Rabiaa Reshmayn, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Rabiaa Reshmayn, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Fatima Bensaid, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Fatima Bensaid, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Lalla Fatouma Boulkmah, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)\n <\/p>\n Lalla Fatouma Boulkmah, who works at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, poses for a portrait, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The coronavirus pandemic upended global demand and prices and many cooperatives closed. Cooperative leaders say new competitors have flooded the market just as drought has diminished how much oil can be squeezed from each fruit.<\/p>\n Cooperatives were set up to provide women a base pay and share profits each month. But Union of Women\u2019s Argan Cooperatives President Jamila Id Bourrous said few make more than Morocco\u2019s minimum monthly wage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who sell the final product are the ones making the money,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Women crack argan nuts at a cooperative that extracts and produces argan oil and products, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A woman pours argan nuts to extract oil at a cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n A woman pours argan nuts to extract oil at a cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Some businesses say large multinational companies use their size to set prices and shut others out.<\/p>\n Khadija Saye, a co-owner of Ageourde Cooperative, said there were real fears about monopoly.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t compete with the poor for the one thing they live from,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you take their model and do it better because you have money, it\u2019s not competition, it\u2019s displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n One company, Olvea, controls 70% of the export market, according to data from local cooperatives. Cooperatives say few competitors can match its capacity to fill big orders for global brands. Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Mounting challenges, limited solutions<\/p>\n On a hill overlooking the Atlantic, a government water truck weaves between rows of trees, pausing to hose saplings that have just started to sprout.<\/p>\n The trees are a project that Morocco began in 2018, planting 39 square miles (100 square kilometers) on private lands abutting the forests. To conserve water and improve soil fertility, argan trees alternate rows with capers, a technique known as intercropping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A worker from local government irrigates newly planted argan trees to help fight against drought and deforestation, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n A worker from local government irrigates newly planted argan trees to help fight against drought and deforestation, in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The idea is to expand forest cover and show that argan, if properly managed, can be a viable source of income. Officials hope it will ease pressure on the overharvested commons and convince others to reinvest in the land. The trees were expected to begin producing this year but haven\u2019t during a drought.<\/p>\n Another issue is the supply chain.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween the woman in the village and the final buyer, there are four intermediaries. Each takes a cut. The cooperatives can\u2019t afford to store, so they sell cheap to someone who pays upfront,\u201d Id Bourrous, the union president, said.<\/p>\n The government has attempted to build storage centers to help producers hold onto their goods longer and negotiate better deals. So far, cooperatives say it hasn\u2019t worked, but a new version is expected in 2026 with fewer barriers to access.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A forest of argan trees is visible in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n A forest of argan trees is visible in Essaouira, Morocco, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mosa\u2019ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Despite problems, there\u2019s money to be made.<\/p>\n During harvest season, women walk into the forest with sacks, scanning the ground for fallen fruit. To El Hantati, the forest, once thick and humming with life, feels quieter now. Only the winds and creaking trees are audible as goats climb branches in search of remaining fruits and leaves.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was young, we\u2019d head into the forest at dawn with our food and spend the whole day gathering. The trees were green all year long,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She paused, worried about the future as younger generations pursue education and opportunities in larger cities.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the last generation that lived our traditions \u2014 weddings, births, even the way we made oil. It\u2019s all fading.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Islam Aatfaoui contributed reporting.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SMIMOU, Morocco (AP) \u2014 Argan oil runs through your fingers like liquid gold \u2014 hydrating, luscious, and restorative.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":101264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[7779,65889,3425,32246,64,10109,10106,65888,79,65891,21736,57,65892,65893,1165,59368,18090,65890,67,132,68,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-101263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-africa-pulse","10":"tag-animals","11":"tag-botany","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-climate","14":"tag-climate-and-environment","15":"tag-droughts","16":"tag-economy","17":"tag-fatma-mnir","18":"tag-forests","19":"tag-general-news","20":"tag-jamila-id-bourrous","21":"tag-khadija-saye","22":"tag-lifestyle","23":"tag-morocco","24":"tag-trees","25":"tag-unilever-plc","26":"tag-united-states","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114934866691208636","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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