Rabat – The European Reconstruction and Development Bank (BERD) has pledged to loan €5 million to the Moroccan olive oil sector in a bid to boost its productivity, reports Olimerca.
Companies under the umbrella of Al Dahra Holding in Morocco, Al Dahra Morocco Factories (ADFAC), and Al Dahra Morocco (ADMO) will benefit from the loan.
With the BERD investment, the companies intend to build a new olive oil factory in the Fez-Meknes region.
The Al Dahra processing plant will provide the local area with olive-based products under the brand name “Oliva” and will also produce olive oil for export.
The loan represents BERD’s first investment in Morocco’s olive sector.
The olive industry is an important sector for Morocco’s economy, providing 51 million work days each year, or 380,000 permanent jobs.
In December 2019, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forestry Aziz Akhannouch said the olive sector covered 19% of Morocco’s domestic edible oil use and generated an annual average of MAD 1.8 billion (approximately $180 million) from exports for the period of 2013-2017.
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Morocco’s olive product export revenues remain far below those of Tunisia, where olive oil exports amount to nearly half a billion dollars every year.
In order to increase capacity and output, the Moroccan government developed a 2009-2020 action plan.
The program aims to develop the production and quality of olives, maintaining the value and price of olives, and improving the sector’s framework conditions in terms of creating new businesses.
The Moroccan government is committed to supporting the sector’s professionals in exporting their goods and pledged to support them with grants during the 2017-2021 period.
