Prodeca runs a business trip to Morocco to boost trade relations between meat sector companies

From 11 to 13 November, Prodeca, the Catalan food promotion agency, in collaboration with Anafric and accompanied by Anafric's president and the Catalan Government Delegate to North Africa, organised a trade mission to Morocco to strengthen commercial relations between sheep and beef meat companies and Morocco, explore new avenues of collaboration and reinforce the Catalan brand's leadership as a benchmark for quality and sustainability in this strategic market. The recent removal of Moroccan tariffs on Spanish meat has represented an unprecedented opportunity for companies in the sector.

The trip's main aim is to build commercial ties between the Spanish and Moroccan meat sectors, facilitating direct connections with the main representatives of the Moroccan meat industry and other business players, authorities and institutions in Morocco. The goal is to deepen and consolidate commercial relations in the beef and sheep meat sector with Morocco, fostering strategic collaboration to consolidate a mutually beneficial market and promote Catalan and Spanish meat as a quality benchmark. During the sessions, new growth avenues were explored for Spanish meat companies in the Moroccan market, drawing on the experience shared at high-level sector business meetings and the presentations and input from Morocco's key sectors.

The participation of Prodeca in this trip aims to showcase the quality, sustainability and value of Catalan meat products, strengthening confidence in the Spanish brand as a guarantee of quality.

The event is held in collaboration with Anafric, the leading association in the Spanish meat sector, accompanied by the Catalan Government Delegation to North Africa, the Spanish Embassy in Morocco and the representation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Morocco.

The trade mission took place in Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier, where there were high-level sessions with Moroccan and Spanish authorities as well as leading meat sector businesspeople from both countries.

The Catalan companies that took part in this business trip:

• BonÀrea

• General Càrnia

• Grup Viñas

• Roca 1927

• Vinyals i Soler

The Catalan meat industry: an economic engine and leading exporter

Catalonia, recognised for its agri-food leadership, stands out in high-quality beef and sheep production, combining tradition and innovation to be an international benchmark in the meat industry. Catalonia's food model is built on differentiating the quality and origin of its products, protecting and promoting traditional products and controlling and inspecting agri-food quality.

The meat industry is Catalonia's leading agri-food sector, with turnover of €10 billion. It accounts for 35% of the agri-food sector's turnover, 36% of its employment and 16% of its companies. 

Catalonia is also a major exporting power, with 43% of the volume and value of meat exported by Spain and 6% of the European Union's volume and value. Beef and sheep meat production is one of its strengths: of the 530,000 tonnes of beef produced in Spain, 133,000 come from Catalonia (almost 25%); and of the 92,000 tonnes of sheep meat produced in Spain, 12,000 are produced in Catalonia (13% of Spanish production).

In Catalonia, numerous meat sector companies are certified for halal meat processing, in line with Spanish legislation allowing this type of slaughter. These companies are fully equipped to meet the food needs of majority-Muslim countries and currently export certified products to destinations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among others.