Morocco Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in morocco, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Agricultural Sector
Last published date:

Leading Sectors for U.S. Exports and Investment

The following sectors will be highlighted in this section:

  • Agricultural Sectors
  • Energy
  • Water
  • Infrastructure
  • Aerospace – civil and defense
  • Healthcare
  • Safety and Security – civil and defense (non-aerospace)
  • Telecommunications
     

Agricultural Sectors

Overview 

Agriculture contributes almost 15% to Morocco’s GDP, and combined with the fishing and forestry sectors employs about 45% of Morocco’s workforce. It has an outsized impact on the economy due to highly variable rain-irrigation-based grain production, its role as an employer, and its role as a major export industry.

Moroccan agriculture is divided into three major sectors: 

  1. Modern, private, irrigated, highly capitalized, and export-oriented farms producing mostly fruits and vegetables.
  2. Agriculture within large scale dam-irrigated perimeters producing dairy, sugar, seeds, fruits, and vegetables primarily for the local market; and
  3. Rain-fed agriculture with more favorable land in the northwest (growing grains, olives, pulses, red meat, and dairy) and less favorable land in the south and east (growing mostly grains and non-intensive sheep production).


Many Moroccan agricultural producers continue to use traditional technologies and have limited access to production inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanization. The prevalence of small farms, complicated land title issues, and increasing land prices pose serious challenges to agricultural policy makers. Policy makers struggle with the conflicting principles of economies of scale, the capitalization requirements necessary to modernize the agricultural sector, and the desire to alleviate poverty and maintain the social structure of traditional rural society.

The Government of Morocco has launched its second strategic plan for agriculture in February 2020. The new plan, called “Generation Green,” sets out an agricultural development strategy through 2030. It has two main pillars:

  1. Develop a new agricultural middle class representing between 350,000 and 400,000 households by supporting young entrepreneurs through the mobilization of one million hectares of collective lands and the creation of 350,000 jobs with a focus on high-value agriculture.
  2. Promote human and social development.
     

Leading Sub-sectors  

  • Feed grains (corn and DDGS)
  • Soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil
  • Tree nuts
  • Pulses, Rice
  • Live animals and genetics
  • Poultry
  • Beef
  • Dairy Products

Opportunities

Morocco is a net importer of agricultural and related products. Morocco typically imports bulk commodities and raw materials from the United States and exports high-value, consumer-oriented products to the United States. The European Union is Morocco’s primary trading partner, accounting for about 60% of Morocco’s agricultural exports. 

The United States is a net exporter of agricultural and related products to Morocco, although U.S. competitiveness has waned in recent years due to increased global competition following Moroccan grain tariff reforms. U.S. exports of bulk agricultural commodities are heavily dependent on fluctuating Moroccan production and competition from competing origins.

On January 1, 2025, the Government of Morocco (GOM) published Circular # 6622/222, announcing the required tariff changes under the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for Calendar Year 2025. The circular includes tariffs, tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), tariff-rate quota administration, agricultural safeguard measures, products covered by the preference clause, and allocation procedures. The most significant change impacting agricultural products are additional safeguard measures for frozen or chilled chicken legs and wings. In Morocco’s 2025 Finance Law, Morocco suspended import tariffs on fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of bovine and ovine species within the limit of a quota of 40,000MT from all origins. More information may be found at:

More information may be found at:

Resources 

U.S. Trade Associations:

In-country contacts:

Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy Rabat
Km 5.7, Avenue Mohamed VI
Souissi, Rabat 10170, Morocco
Phone: (+212) 537 63 76 56
Web:    https://ma.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/rabat/sections-offices/usda/
Email:    AgRabat@fas.usda.gov