The potential of Morocco’s aquaculture industry has attracted the attention of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), which recently organized a training session in Fes, Morocco, where it hosted fish farmers and possible investors in the sector and espoused the benefits of producing tilapia in the North African country using U.S. feed ingredients.
The USGC – a Washington, D.C., U.S.A.-based nonprofit that aims to develop export markets for U.S. agricultural products – teamed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in conducting the training session. Both entities promoted the use and proper management of U.S.-produced distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for use in aquaculture feed.
DDGS is a nutrient-rich byproduct of ethanol production that, according to the USGC, would enable aquaculture entrepreneurs to increase their yields at a time when Morocco’s aquaculture output lies well below the national potential.
“Incorporating U.S. DDGS into fish diets dramatically increases yields at a highly competitive price point, bringing value to end users in Morocco and to U.S. producers and exporters,” USGC Regional Deputy Director for Africa Mohamed Salah Bouthour said.
Bouthour said Morocco is among the African countries with increasing demand for affordable animal protein.
“Consumer interest in animal protein is rapidly rising in Africa, and aquaculture is an affordable and sustainable way for African producers to feed the population,” Bouthour said.
To meet this growing demand sustainably, the USGC said that Moroccan fish farmers should embrace modern techniques when farming tilapia in desert regions, including through “closed recirculation equipment and genetic selection of high-quality fish to ensure a healthy and nutritious product.”
“The council is already planning more programs targeting the aquaculture sector in Africa, as we all see the massive potential in this market – both in improving the lives of local producers and consumers and in developing a new, diversified market for U.S. agricultural exports,” Bouthour said.
The USGC’s exports of DDGS have doubled over the past 15 years, with the latest council report showing its DDGS exports increased from 5 million MT in 2009 to more than 10 million metric tons across 58 countries during the 2022-2023 marketing year.
Other investors have also seen the potential of Morocco as a base for aquaculture development, not only because domestic demand is expanding but because it also sits close to Europe.
For that reason, the Selstad Group and Badinotti Group – both providers of equipment and services to fisheries and aquaculture companies – established a joint venture in October dubbed Maisma Net Services, which includes the building of a shared facility for aquaculture and fishery equipment in Morocco.
“The location in Morocco, close to Europe, will allow us to reduce delivery times and ensure high standards of quality control,” Selstad Group CEO Hans Petter Selstad said at the time.
