The drought in the North African country is posing a major challenge to the supply of livestock in the face of the nation's historically high local demand

Morocco seeks to import cattle from Australia in the face of drought-generated red meat shortages

AP/MOSSAB ELSHAMY-Ovejas a la venta para la próxima festividad islámica de Eid al-Adha en un mercado en las afueras de Rabat, Marruecos — AP/MOSSAB ELSHAMY-Sheep for sale for the upcoming Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha at a market on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco

Marina Coronado

27/07/23 | Read time: 0 min.

Morocco is facing a shortage of red meat due to a severe drought that has affected its domestic livestock sector. The North African country has recently requested to import livestock from Australia, one of the world's largest exporters of cattle and sheep.

According to Australian media outlet ABC, Morocco's Department of Agriculture has sent a request to start negotiations for the import of livestock from Australia, including proposed terms of trade. The request comes at a time when Morocco's traditional suppliers of livestock from the Middle East and Africa are also struggling with water shortages and climate change.

PHOTO/AFP - Presa de Al-Massira en el pueblo de Ouled Essi Masseoud, su embalse abastece de agua potable a varias ciudades, incluidos los tres millones de personas que viven en Casablanca — **PHOTO/AFP -** Al-Massira dam in the village of Ouled Essi Masseoud, its reservoir supplies drinking water to several cities, including the three million people living in Casablanca

The North African country has been importing red meat from different countries, including Brazil and Uruguay, to meet its domestic demand and stabilise prices. In 2022, Brazilian imports increased by 88.82%. However, these imports are not enough to satisfy the growing appetite for meat of Moroccan consumers, who have seen their disposable income increase in recent years.

Australia's response has been timid. Although the Australian government has shown interest in exporting this resource, the conditions for this to happen are not ideal. The Australian Exporter Supply Chain Assurance Scheme (ESCAS) requires exporting countries to be accredited under its system to ensure adequate facilities and processes for the movement of live cattle. Along with these strict conditions, Morocco also has a 200% import tariff on livestock, making it unfavourable to the Australian market. The oceanic country also maintains plans to ban the maritime export of live sheep by sea imposed by the federal Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt.

AP/MOSSAB ELSHAMY - La gente se reúne para comprar ovejas para la próxima festividad islámica de Eid al-Adha en un mercado en las afueras de Rabat, Marruecos — **AP/MOSSAB ELSHAMY -** People gather to buy sheep for the upcoming Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha at a market on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco

According to ABC News, the managing director of Rural Export and Trading WA, Murray Frangs, also does not support the possibility of a short-term export of this product, as current Australian market conditions do not support it. "We outlined that there are a number of factors we would have to overcome to get there and we didn't see that there would be any opportunity in the short to medium term to address that (...), in the unlikely situation that this had a longer term opportunity, it might be worth considering, but at this stage it doesn't appear to be that," Frangs stated.

While Morocco's African and Arab suppliers are also unable to make up for their consumption of Moroccan red meat, institutions such as the World Bank and the European Union have provided the Alawi kingdom with aid to combat the country's drought, and to develop new methods of agriculture and livestock farming to cope with the situation, which looks set to continue for years to come.

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