Morocco Boycotts Spain Sheep Exports, Algeria Wins Trade Deal

In order to preserve its local breeders, the Kingdom implemented radical fiscal measures in 2026. Moroccan authorities imposed customs duties of 200% on ovines from Spain and Portugal. This strategy aims to protect the national sector and encourage the sale of local livestock for the festivities. Direct consequence of this tariff shield: imports of live Spanish sheep fell to zero between January and March, whereas Morocco had absorbed more than 6,000 tonnes of these animals over the same period a year earlier.

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This customs lockdown consolidates the momentum begun in 2025. Facing difficulties in agricultural operations and the surge in livestock prices, King Mohammed VI had asked citizens to suspend the sacrifice ritual. This royal directive had sown panic on the Iberian peninsula side. Spanish professionals had perceived this decision as a deliberate maneuver to drive down their livestock prices. Spain thus saw its historic client abruptly withdraw, causing a sales drop of more than 16,000 tonnes to the Moroccan kingdom.

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Deprived of its main buyer, Spain had to urgently reorganize its export channels. As El Debate newspaper specifies, Iberian breeders compensated for the closure of the Moroccan market by shipping more than 12,700 tonnes to Algeria starting in 2025. Ángeles Santos, breeder and representative of the COAG agricultural union, confirms that this new commercial route was essential to circumvent "the obstacle posed by Morocco." Facing the loss of this leading partner, she now urges the Spanish government to stimulate meat consumption on its own territory in order to reduce its external dependence.