Morocco strengthens its sheep and goat herd despite the decline in cattle and camels

revealed a 30% drop in the populations of cows and camels, which are more vulnerable to drought and the pandemic. The count, carried out between June 26 and August 11 and published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Agriculture, puts the number of livestock at 32,832,573, of which 23,158,248 are sheep (16,348,449 females) and 7,474,172 are goats (5,293,805 females). These figures contrast with the 18 million counted at the beginning of the year by professionals in the sector. However, the cattle herd was reduced to 2,094,109 head and the camel herd to 106,044, a decrease of nearly 30% compared to the usual levels of between 3 and 3.2 million cows and around 150,000 camel heads. In light of these data, the Government announced that at the end of September it will suspend the exemption of customs duties and VAT for the import of sheep, goats, and powdered milk, although it will maintain this tax benefit for cattle in order to support their recovery. The Ministry explained that the ...