This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 7/15/2019

Overview

Agriculture contributes to around 15% of Morocco’s GDP and largely determines the growth level of the economy as agricultural output is highly variable from year-to-year. The agriculture, fishing, and forestry sector employs about 45% of the total workforce.
Morocco’s agriculture is divided into three major sectors:

  1. Modern, private, irrigated, highly capitalized, and export-oriented farms producing mostly fruit and vegetables

  2. Agriculture within reorganized large scale dam-irrigated perimeters producing mostly dairy, sugar crops, seeds, fruits and vegetables primarily for the local market

  3. Rain-fed agriculture with more favorable land in the northwest (growing mostly grains, olives, pulses, red meat and dairy) and less favorable land in the south and east (growing mostly grains and non-intensive sheep production).


Moroccan agricultural methods remain mostly traditional with limited applications of production inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and mechanization. Grains account for over 60% of agricultural production, and the area planted for wheat has expanded due to increased government support. The prevalence of small farms, complicated inherited land status, and increasing land prices pose serious challenges to agricultural policy makers. Policy makers struggle with the conflicting underlying principles of economies of scale and the capitalization requirements necessary to modernize the agriculture sector and the desire to alleviate poverty and maintain the social structure of the traditional rural society.

In April 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Maritime Fishing launched the Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert, PMV) setting out the agriculture development strategy through 2020.  It has two pillars:
 

  1. The accelerated development of modern and competitive agriculture, vital for the national economy, through the realization of thousands of new projects, with a focus on high-value agriculture.  

  2. Support to small-holder agriculture through the implementation or professionalization of 545 projects of small farms in difficult rural areas, thereby promoting greater productivity, greater recovery of production and sustainability of farm income. This second pillar also seeks to convert cereal crops to higher-value alternatives and as well as value-added processing.

 

Trade

Morocco is a net importer of agricultural and related products, which generally consist of imports of bulk commodities and exports of high-value, consumer-oriented products.  The European Union is Morocco’s primary trading partner, accounting for about 60% of Morocco’s agricultural exports. 

Morocco Imports of Global Agricultural, Fishery, and Forestry Products


Source: Global Trade Atlas

While the United States is a net exporter of agricultural and related products to Morocco, U.S. competitiveness has waned vis-à-vis increased competition from the European Union and Black Sea countries in recent years.  U.S. exports of bulk agricultural commodities (e.g. wheat) are also particularly impacted by the volatile nature of Morocco’s agricultural production from one year to the next.

Morocco Imports of U.S. Agricultural, Fishery, and Forestry Products

Source: Global Trade Atlas

The U.S.-Morocco FTA provisions have been fully implemented for all agricultural products except:

  • Live animals

  • Animal products (e.g., meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, honey, and fishery)

  • Barley and products, corn products, and rice products

  • Jams, confectionary, and chocolate

  • Peas and lentils

  • Almonds


More information may be found at:

 

 

Best Prospects for Morocco

 

  • Wheat

  • Feed grains (corn and DDGS)

  • Soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil

  • Pulses

  • Live animals* and genetics

  • Beef

  • Poultry

  • Dairy Products

  • Dried fruit and nuts


* Pending successful conclusion to outstanding health certificate negotiations


Web Resources

U.S. Trade Associations:

 

 

 

In-country USDA contacts

Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy Rabat
Phone:           (212) 357 76 59 87
Web:               http://morocco.usembassy.gov/offices_department/usda.html
Email:            AgRabat@fas.usda.gov



List of USDA/FAS Commodity Reports and Briefs


The Office of Agricultural Affairs publishes reports available at http://gain.fas.usda.gov/pages/default.aspx, including, for example:

  • Exporter Guide

  • Retail Foods

  • Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional

  • Food Processing Ingredients

  • Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Narrative

  • Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Certification

  • Agricultural Biotechnology Annual

  • Grain and Feed

  • Citrus

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.