The Customs published, at the beginning of January, a circular prohibiting the importation of cattle and their meat from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. This measure is valid for one year and is due to health considerations. This article is a press review taken from the daily Les Inspirations Eco.
Cattle and their meat from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are no longer admissible to Morocco. So decided the ADII (the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration) in a circular. The measure took effect on January 1 and is valid for one year, specifying the daily Les Inspirations Eco in its edition of Monday, January 9.
The decision was adopted in the application of written instruction from the Ministry of Agriculture. The explanation given is that these products will not be imported into Morocco, for the year 2023, due to the health status of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for cattle, in particular those with mad cow disease.
“Our research shows an increase in the prevalence rate of bovine tuberculosis in the high-risk area. But no information about mad cow disease. It should be noted, however, that in the same way as mad cow disease, bovine tuberculosis is an animal disease transmissible to humans and mainly affecting cattle farms”, underlines the daily.
According to the epidemiological analysis of data on changing trends in bovine tuberculosis, published by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, updated 8 December 2022, it is said that ‘Across England, the herd incidence rate for the months October 2021 to September 2022 was 9.1, an increase of 0.3 on the previous 12 months’.
The report also states that the movement of livestock with undetected TB infection is considered the most common way the disease spreads to new areas. “In particular, the movement of livestock from areas of Britain with a high incidence of bovine tuberculosis poses a significant risk of introducing infection into areas of England, Wales with a low incidence and Scotland, which has been officially TB-free since September 2009,” it read.
This measure is recorded while in Morocco, the price of red meat should soon experience a further increase of 10 to 15%.
