Casablanca, Morocco, Dec. 2, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley arrived in Casablanca today to begin a USDA-sponsored agribusiness trade mission. Whitley is leading a delegation of nearly 50 U.S. agribusinesses and trade groups and 14 state departments of agriculture to expand U.S. farm and food exports to Morocco and other West African markets.
“I am honored to lead this delegation to Casablanca as we work to strengthen vital connections, grow U.S. agricultural exports, and showcase the broad array of products American agriculture has to offer,” said Whitley.
Morocco is the second-largest export market for U.S. agriculture in Africa. U.S. sales of farm and food products to the country topped $619 million last year, representing 16 percent of U.S. exports to the continent. American agricultural exports to Morocco have doubled since the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement entered into force in 2006.
Morocco offers a stable market and growing economy and serves as a key distribution hub for the African continent. The country is already a major importer of bulk and intermediate commodities from the United States and its expanding food processing sector and rising consumer demand are creating new potential for sales of consumer-oriented products. U.S. exporters have opportunities in numerous sectors, including beef, dairy, feed grains, live animals and genetics, rice, seafood, seed potatoes, soybeans, and tree nuts.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation is participating in the USDA trade mission to Morocco this week. USMEF Africa Representative Matt Copeland says Morocco is a promising market with a free trade agreement with the U.S. that could fuel momentum for U.S. red meat in a broader region of Africa.
“Countries like Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire are growing six and a half, seven percent year-on-year in terms of GDP growth,” says Copeland. “And that offers a very big base in terms of population size and demand. And now for Morocco to participate in a free trade agreement with the United States, it allows for some interesting opportunities that haven’t been available to that region in the past.”
