• Oct 21, 2026

Morocco’s poultry feed mills: a concentrated market under pressure from imported grain

A growing sector, a growing feed bill

Morocco is Africa's third-largest poultry producer, behind Egypt and South Africa. According to the poultry federation FISA, the sector produced 654,000 tonnes of chicken and 174,000 tonnes of turkey in 2025, along with 7.06 billion table eggs. Poultry meat consumption reached 23.6 kg per person, up from 20.9 kg a year earlier.¹

Feed is the base of that growth. FISA puts poultry feed production at 3.3 million tonnes in 2023, up 10% on 2022.² Poultry accounts for 76% of all compound feed made in Morocco.³ Feed inputs, mainly corn, soybean and other grains, make up 60–70% of poultry production costs.¹

A concentrated market

Morocco's Competition Council reviewed the compound feed market in 2024. It counted 46 compound feed plants, according to the manufacturers' association AFAC, with half of them on the Casablanca–Kénitra axis, close to ports and poultry farms. The eight largest operators held 73% of the market by volume in 2022, and two vertically integrated groups held close to half between them.³ The Council did not name the operators, and the sector ran below 60% of its installed capacity.³

Several of the leading mills describe their own scale publicly:

• Alf Sahel. Founded in 1999 by the Mohemmane family, whose group also runs hatcheries and the Sahel Abattoirs poultry processing complex.⁴ Its director general has described it as Morocco's largest feed mill, producing more than 1.2 million tonnes a year across poultry, ruminant and other species.⁵
• Zalar Holding (Alf Al Maghrib). Its subsidiaries El Alf and Agro Industrielle Al Atlas sell feed under the Alf Al Maghrib brand. Zalar reports a national market share above 18% and a capacity of 960,000 tonnes a year, and also makes premixes and additives through Feed & Food Additifs.⁶
• INAAM. Industrie d'Alimentation Animale Moderne, based in Casablanca, is one of the two historic founders of Morocco's compound feed industry: the Competition Council dates it to 1954.³ INAAM makes compound feeds and concentrates for poultry and ruminants and offers on-farm feeding advice through its technical sales team.⁷

Integration is a common thread. The largest producers own breeders, hatcheries, processing plants and retail outlets as well as feed mills.^3,5

Challenges mills are working through

Imported grain and price swings. Morocco became a net importer of corn, with domestic production close to zero.³ Corn imports were about 2.6 million tonnes in 2025, led by Brazil, with Argentina and the United States the other main origins.⁸ Cereals, mainly corn, make up at least half of a standard compound feed, and oilseed meals about 25% by volume but close to half by value. The Council found that poultry feed prices tracked the corn price with a 94% correlation.³

Drought. Seven consecutive years of drought cut domestic cereal yields and exposed producers to world price swings.¹ Rain returned in 2025–26: the Agriculture Minister projected a 9 million tonne cereal harvest, more than double the previous season.¹ USDA expects better domestic crops to reduce wheat and barley imports.⁹ Corn, however, remains imported.

Mycotoxins and raw material quality. The Council notes that changes in the type or origin of raw materials can affect feed quality, and that moulds and mycotoxins can harm animal health. It reports that hatchery feeds use more additives and steam treatment to manage mycotoxin risk for breeders. It also records feed conversion ratios above 2 in Morocco, against 1.4–1.9 in Europe.³

Heat stress. Heat lowers feed intake, raises feed conversion and increases water demand.¹⁰ Betaine, an osmolyte that helps cells hold water, and the antioxidant vitamins C and E are widely studied in heat-stressed birds. Reviews describe them as partly offsetting the effects of heat rather than removing them.^10,11

Water quality. Industry contacts in Morocco also raise drinking water as a production issue, and published farm surveys point the same way. In 150 samples from poultry farms in the Marrakech, El Kelaa des Sraghna, Chtouka-Aït Baha and Tiznit regions, average hardness was 70 °f, above the 50 °f recommended for poultry. Sodium and chloride were high, and only a quarter of samples met poultry standards. Hard water also reduced the solubility of several veterinary medicines given through the drinking water.¹⁴ On turkey farms in Khemisset, every sample taken at the water-line inlet failed microbiological standards.¹⁵ Supply adds pressure: groundwater withdrawals exceed renewable resources by about 28%, and the national water plan looks to seawater desalination for nearly 1 billion m³ a year by 2050.¹⁶ Salt content matters to the bird. In a trial under hot, arid conditions, water intake rose with dissolved solids, and weight gain and feed efficiency fell at the highest level tested, 3,448 ppm.¹⁷ Heat compounds the effect, because birds drink more to cool themselves, and electrolytes are among the measures studied for heat-stressed flocks.¹⁰ Producers commonly respond with regular water testing, water-line cleaning and electrolyte support in hot periods.

Antibiotic reduction. Morocco prohibits the unauthorised use of antibiotics, including as growth promoters, and monitors the quantities of antimicrobials used in livestock.¹² That shifts attention to gut health, feed hygiene and nutrition.

Buyer checklist: what leading mills commonly track

• Origin, vessel and certificate of analysis for each corn and soybean meal lot
• Moisture, temperature and mycotoxin tests at intake and in storage
• Binder choice matched to the toxins found: clay-based binders work best against aflatoxins, less well against DON and fumonisins¹³
• Summer formulas and water plans, with vitamins or betaine where nutritionists see a need^10,11
• Drinking-water tests for hardness, salts and bacteria at source and at the end of the line, especially where farms rely on wells^14,15
• ONSSA authorisation for every additive purchased, and no antibiotic growth promoters¹²
• Feed conversion by season, to see where heat and raw material changes cost money³

References

1. Morocco World News. "Moroccans Now Eat 23.6 Kg of Poultry Per Person Annually" (FISA data). 23 April 2026. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/04/288437/moroccans-now-eat-23-6-kg-of-poultry-per-person-annually/
2. Le Brief. "Aviculture, un secteur volatile ?" (FISA data for 2023). https://www.lebrief.ma/aviculture-un-secteur-volatile-145017/
3. Conseil de la concurrence (Morocco). Avis n° A/3/24 on the compound feed market, non-confidential version, 2024. https://conseil-concurrence.ma/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Livre-AVIS-A-3-24-FR-Non-Confidentielle.pdf
4. Alf Sahel, company website. https://www.alfsahel.com/en
5. Iowa Soybean Association. "U.S., Morocco Seek Resolution on New Rules for Soybean Sales." https://www.iasoybeans.com/newsroom/article/us-morocco-seek-resolution-on-new-rules-for-soybean-sales
6. Zalar Holding. Animal feed. https://zalar.ma/en/animal-feed-production/
7. INAAM, company website. https://inaam.ma/qui-sommes-nous/
8. U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council. Morocco market profile. https://grains.org/markets-tools-data/markets/market-profiles/morocco/
9. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, FAS Rabat. Morocco: Grain and Feed Annual. GAIN report MO2026-0005, 17 April 2026. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/gain/2026/04/morocco-grain-and-feed-annual
10. Wasti S, Sah N, Mishra B. Impact of heat stress on poultry health and performances, and potential mitigation strategies. Animals 2020; 10(8): 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10081266
11. Begum M, Musa L, Grilli G, et al. A review on heat stress in broiler chickens: mechanisms, effects and mitigation strategies. Veterinary Medicine and Science 2026; 12(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.71219
12. FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius. "JISSA / Le Maroc renforce la lutte contre la résistance aux antibiotiques dans l'élevage." 19 June 2026. https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/news-and-events/news-details/fr/c/1759706/
13. Olariu RM, Fiţ NI, Bouari CM, Nadăş GC. Mycotoxins in broiler production: impacts on growth, immunity, vaccine efficacy, and food safety. Toxins 2025; 17(6): 261. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17060261
14. El Hraiki A, Marouane A, Lamhaous H, Bengoumi M. Qualité de l'eau de boisson et impact sur la solubilité des médicaments vétérinaires en aviculture. Revue Marocaine des Sciences Agronomiques et Vétérinaires 2021; 9(3): 353–359. https://www.agrimaroc.org/index.php/Actes_IAVH2/article/view/1008
15. El Allaoui A, Rhazi Filali F, Derouich A. Water quality in turkey farms in Khemisset (Morocco) and potential risk factors. Revue scientifique et technique (OIE) 2016; 35(3). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28332638/
16. World Bank. Morocco Country Climate and Development Report, Background Note: Water Scarcity and Droughts. April 2023. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/073ccc31324add86357b143f4cf64a8e-0280012023/original/BN-Water-Scarcity-and-Droughts-apr23-FINAL.pdf
17. Performance and immune response of broiler chicks as affected by different levels of total dissolved solids in drinking water under hot arid environments. Animal Production Science 2013. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN12165