New market for cereals as Morocco lifts controls on feed wheat imports
Published on 2 July 2013
Rog Wood
BCE, the export arm of HGCA (the cereals division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) has announced that the Moroccan government is to lift its restrictions on feed wheat imports, opening up a new market potentially worth an estimated £9.6 million a year.
The Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture and the state buying agency ONICL have confirmed that the restrictions on feed wheat imports have been lifted, allow- ing imports to meet Moroccan feed manufacturers’ annual demand of 60,000 tonnes.
Sarah Mann, HGCA’s BCE exports manager, said: “BCE has been working with the Moroccan Feed Trade Association, AFAC, and the state buying agency ONICL since 2009 to supply feed wheat to the Moroccan feed industry. We welcome the news, as it opens up a new market opportunity for UK feed wheat which previously did not exist. BCE will be hosting a visit to buyers from AFAC after harvest to further strengthen these valuable relationships.”
l Meanwhile, a third case of Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) has been confirmed in Aberdeenshire.
The latest case involved a home-bred heifer calf on a farm north of Aberdeen, it was revealed.
With Dumfries and Galloway also having had eight cases of SBV confirmed, SAC Veterinary Services Manager Brian Hosie said: “Sheep and cattle farmers across Scotland should consider their own situation and discuss it with their vet practice.”
