Morocco bans German feed grain imports amid FMD outbreak

A sign with the inscription "Beware of epidemic danger! No trespassing!" hangs on a fence in front of a farm in Mehrow, close to Ahrensfelde, Germany, January 13, 2025. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, 30 January 2025, Yacoubi confirmed that the decision aims to prevent the spread of the disease and safeguard Morocco’s livestock sector.

A source at Morocco's food safety agency ONSSA confirmed that plant-based imports from Germany for animal feed had been "suspended" until Germany is declared free of foot and mouth again or certifies local regions that are free of the disease.

Germany announced its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years on Jan. 10 in a herd of water buffalo near Berlin in the Brandenburg region. That remains the only reported case so far.

Trade restrictions, impact on exports

The outbreak has led to trade restrictions from some countries including Britain on livestock-related goods from Germany.

Germany's agriculture ministry said on Jan. 13 that the loss of Germany's status as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease meant exporting a wide range of farm products outside the European Union would no longer be possible.

Traders have reported that exporters have sourced some feed barley cargoes for Morocco in France instead of Germany in response to the trade restriction.

However, other importing countries were still accepting German feed grain and one cargo of German barley initially sold for Morocco would be shipped to Tunisia, traders said.

Disease risks, Morocco's precautions

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly infectious virus that causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants, such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats, but poses no danger to humans.

The disease occurs regularly in parts of the world including in Africa but Morocco has not recorded an outbreak since 2019.