The Morocco Poultry Association is FISA and its Executive Director is Chaouki Jerrari (pictured second from left). FISA hosted the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team this morning and to lunch. We had a great discussion with Chaouki and other members that included concerns over the recent quality of U.S. corn they received and how American farmers and the USGC …
Growing The Poultry Industry In Morocco
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited a nearly new poultry operation today. The owner is pictured on the right. With the assistance of Morocco’s Green Plan for agricultural development Ahmed Addioui has built several of these poultry farms to raise chickens for the market. Each building houses approximately 15,000 birds. I spoke with him via USGC Consultant Abdellah …
Morocco Has Good Grain Market Potential
The Deputy Minister of Agricultural Production for Morocco is Ahmed Bentouhami, pictured on left, who met with the U.S Grains Council Corn Mission team for dinner. We had a very informal discussion as we sampled more wonderful Moroccan food. Mr. Bentouhami’s comments are translated in the audio file below by USGC Consultant Mustapha El Youssoufi, pictured on the right. He …
New Shipping Port In Morocco
Morocco is nearing completion of a major new port facility south of Casablanca. The El Jaddah Port was one of the stops for the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission. While there we met with Ammar Bouchaib, pictured left, who is not only involved in shipping grain into the country but also has a large storage facility for feed products. I …
Expert Advice From David Asbridge
Let me introduce you to the David Asbridge and his United Soybean Board, Expert Advice column – Market Production Analysis & Market Outlook. David operates NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service, an independent consulting firm that covers the crop and fertilizer markets, both domestically and globally. Here’s an excerpt from his current column. The already record large U.S. soybean crop just keeps …
Shopping in Morocco
After our morning meetings at the Morocco Ministry of Agriculture the U.S. Grains Council team got a little time off to “shop.” We wandered through an area of shops and I did make a few purchases that included a couple of quality Fez’s for friends of mine. Here’s a picture of some fruit stands we passed along the way. The …
Morocco Ag Attache Working For U.S. Agribusiness
The Regional Agricultural Attache for the United States in Morocco is Hassan Ahmed. I first met Hassan when he was posted to Cairo and I was traveling on a USDA FAS trip that included stops in Cairo and Alexandria. I haven’t seen him since then until today but we still remember the “camel story” among others. Some of you have …
Morocco’s Office of Cereals
The Moroccan government’s “Office of Cereals” is led by Mr. Abdelali Aziz, General Director (pictured center). He spoke to the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission this morning about the status of corn imports into Morocco and touched on quantity, quality and standards. He also commented on the impact of the USGC’s programs on the poultry and beef sectors. He says, …
On The Road In Morocco
While we get back on the road in Morocco today to the capital city of Rabat and visits with the Ministry of Agriculture I thought you might like to see what the country looked like from the road. Here’s a short video clip in which you can hear U.S. Grains Council Consultant Mustapha El Youssoufi, doing the play by play. …
International News About Soybeans
John Baize, Baize & Associates is a regular columnist for the United Soybean Board’s Expert Advice. His company specializes in international agricultural trading and policy consulting on oilseeds and soybeans and including biotechnology policy, trade policy, agriculture policy and market development activities. In his most recent column you’ll find information about China. A lot has been said about the impact …