Morocco’s Eid Al Adha Sheep Supply in Doubt as Drought Sparks Import Debate

With the drought that has severely affected the agricultural and livestock sectors this year, combined with the soaring prices of inputs, especially livestock feed, the prices of livestock will certainly skyrocket on the occasion of Eid Al Adha. This year, Morocco has opted to import one million sheep from Spain, Romania, Italy and Poland, even though the supply of sheep exceeds demand, reports Hespress.

Many breeders and professionals in the sector fear the impact of these imports on the Moroccan herd. According to some butchers, Moroccans seem to have an aversion to anything imported since the episode of Brazilian beef. They now pay attention to the origin of the red meat imported before buying it and the sheep meat offered for sale will be no exception.

The imported livestock "was detrimental to the national herd, given that this aversion to them pushes many butchers to slaughter ewes and cows that contribute to ensuring local production," explains Jamal Farhan, secretary general for the meat transport sector in the Casablanca region, under the National Union of Merchants and Professionals.

According to him, "importing does not solve the problem of national production in the long term, insofar as it temporarily exceeds the high prices." And he adds: "We must therefore think about the future to avoid entering a spiral from which it will be difficult to get out." Farhan also reassures that the butchers in the weekly markets generally slaughter ewes and not sheep, reserved for the sacrifice on the day of Eid Al Adha.