After the U.S. Trade Representative's Office announced that Morocco will start importing American poultry products, the US Poultry & Egg Council (USAPEEC) explained that the decision will also cover turkey. The US Poultry & Egg Council (USAPEEC) issued a statement on Tuesday, August 7th, on its website praising the decision made by Morocco to import US poultry products. The step, according to the U.S. department, includes also American turkey. The council recalls that the negotiation process was launched in 2004, when the free trade agreement between Morocco and the United States had been concluded. For the record, negotiations took place this year involving the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). They were led by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and mainly focused on the opening of the market as well as health certificates. USAPEEC President Jim Sumner announced in the same press release that there will be a duty-free quota of 6,400 metric tons for chicken parts. The quota will then increase by 200 metric tons each year to eventually become unlimited. The president of the council stressed later that this decision will allow the USA to have full access to the Moroccan market by 2030. Increasing Morocco's poultry consumption Sumner then praised the agreement, saying that it will boost the consumption of these products. «We look forward to working with the Moroccan poultry industry to help grow the consumption of poultry products, both domestic and foreign». On Tuesday, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced, that Rabat will start importing American poultry products for the first time in 2018. In a press release, Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries explained that these imports will cover only frozen poultry products. According to the same source, Morocco is planning to import 8958 tons of U.S. poultry products in 2018, which accounts for 1.3% of the country's national poultry consumption. After Brazil, the United States is the world's second largest exporter of poultry, with a total of poultry products and meats sales of $ 4.3 billion in 2017. Founded in 1984, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council is a non-profit, industry- sponsored trade organization dedicated to increasing exports of U.S. poultry and egg food products in all foreign markets.
