Morocco's presence on Russian market weak, report

Morocco's presence on the Russian market is "very weak" despite the existence of several cooperation agreements, mainly in agriculture and fisheries, according to a report of a prospecting mission of the Moroccan Center of Exports Promotion.

The document, quoted by the latest issue of the magazine "Alimentarius," recalls that Moroccan-Russian trade during the 5 last years went up from 2.2 billion dirhams (9.04 Dirhams - US$ 1) to 4.7 million DH, i.e. a 114% rise. Morocco's 2001 exports to Russia consisted mainly of food industry (98%), including citrus fruit (81%), fish flour (8.6%), tomatoes (3.5%), potatoes (0.7%) and diverse food products (4%).

The report says Morocco's export products to Russia are not diversified enough although Russian consumers praise Moroccan products, adding that the export potential of fish flour alone is of 16.5 million US dollars.

The report goes on that the kingdom has considerable assets in this area, despite hard competition from Peru (25%), Mauritania (12%), Azerbaijan (11%), opportunities also exist on the fresh and frozen fish market.

The document underlines that the Russian market offers several opportunities for other Moroccan products, particularly wine, fresh and canned fruits and vegetables, margarine, etc