The Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests suspended aid for sheep imports at the end of last year, pending the launch of a new aid program for 2024.
A source explained to SNRTnews that this is a temporary step and that a new program with revised criteria is currently in preparation and will be launched in the coming weeks.
According to the same source, the conditions and support measures for sheep importers for the current year will be based on the situation of the national herd, taking into account the demand during the period of Eid al-Adha.
It should be noted that the government has taken several measures to ensure the stability of meat prices and protect the national livestock, including the removal of customs duties and value-added tax to encourage sheep imports, as well as the direct support for importers during Eid al-Adha last year, estimated at MAD 500 per imported animal.
Professionals interviewed by SNRTnews stated that incentives for importing sheep have played an important role in stabilizing meat prices, adding that the current price of “mutton” varies between MAD 95 and MAD 110 per kilogram, with prices estimated to increase by MAD 15 to MAD 20 per kilogram following the ministry’s announcement.
In a similar context, data from the Office des Changes revealed that Moroccan imports of livestock jumped to MAD 2.64 billion at the end of last November, compared to MAD 534 million in the same period in 2022, recording an increase of approximately MAD 2.11 billion.
Last November, the Kingdom imported 60.4 thousand tonnes of livestock, compared to 8.4 thousand tonnes during the same period in 2022.