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Reviewing Agricultural Trade Policies

To Promote Intra-OIC Agricultural Trade

102

Table 4. 19 Top 5 OIC Destination Countries for Morocco’s Top 5 Export Products

Importer OIC country

Value of agricultural

exports to the country,

million USD, last 3-year

average

% share in total

agricultural exports to the

OIC countries, last 3-year

average

Turkey

86.6

16.9

Lebanon

44.5

8.7

Côte d'Ivoire

42.2

8.2

Mauritania

34.5

6.7

Syria

24.9

4.9

Source: CEPII BACI, Eurostat RAMON, UN Comtrade, UN Trade Statistics, and authors’ calculations

The first 5 markets from which Morocco purchases the highest agricultural imports in the OIC

market has been shown in Table 4.20. Egypt is the largest market for Morocco’s top 5

agricultural product imports fromOIC countries with a share of 29.7%, followed by Tunisia with

a share of 13%. Both Egypt and Tunisia are geographically close markets to Morocco, which

explain their higher shares. The third largest market is Indonesia, followed by UAE and Turkey.

Table 4. 20 Top 5 OIC Origin Countries of Morocco’s Top 5 Import Products

Exporter OIC country

Value of agricultural

imports from the country,

million USD, last 3-year

average

% share in total

agricultural imports from

the OIC countries, last 3-

year average

Egypt

96.6

29.7

Tunisia

42.1

13.0

Indonesia

38.9

12.0

UAE

33.5

10.3

Turkey

23.6

7.3

Source: CEPII BACI, Eurostat RAMON, UN Comtrade, UN Trade Statistics, and authors’ calculations

4.2.2. Agricultural Trade Policies in Morocco

Background

From independence in 1956 to the late 1980s, the agricultural sector in Morocco was subject to

heavy state intervention. The direct and indirect involvement of the state was particularly

visible in marketing and international trade. Imports of cereals and exports were under the

control of state-run offices. Production was pursued largely by the private sector, but the

production decisions are coordinated by the state as well. The stability of domestic prices of

certain strategic products and increasing agricultural productivity were among the main

motivations of state interventions.

Liberalizing agriculture, rationalizing state intervention in agriculture, and liberalized

agricultural trade policy were among the main purposes of the reform initiated in 1983. In the

following years, export taxes on agricultural products were reduced to zero. Tariffs on average

were decreased substantially, but the state monopolies’ role on importing was preserved.

In the early 1990s, reformand liberalization efforts by theMoroccan authorities were continued,

and Marrakech was chosen as the ceremony site of the 1994 GATT agreement. Morocco is a

member of the WTO since 1995.