The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) informs that regaining the export markets for sheep in the traditional relationships with Jordan and opening a new export market through the development of trade relations between Romania and Morocco in the sheep sector are two objectives achieved by MADR in the first half of this year.

The results were achieved following the visit of the Minister of Agriculture of Jordan to Romania in March 2023 and the visit of the Moroccan delegation, after the dialogue between the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Petre DAEA, and his counterpart from the Kingdom of Morocco.

For the first time, within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and Romania, a cooperation agreement regarding the export of sheep has been concluded. In this regard, the necessary procedures for the preparation of the visit were urgently carried out, during which the veterinary health certificate, a document required for exports, was agreed upon on May 11, 2023, from a technical point of view.

The field visits of the Moroccan delegation resulted in finalizing the form of the veterinary health certificate, which marks significant progress in the cooperation between the two countries, considering the rapid progress of the negotiations.

"Romania is the second-largest sheep population in the European Union, and MADR aims to increase it in order to exploit the resources our country has. From this perspective, the state uses all available tools to develop the sector and support sheep breeders in valorizing the products obtained on their own farms," stated Petre DAEA.

During the three days of the Moroccan delegation's presence in Romania, other aspects related to sheep export were also discussed, such as sanitary procedures, identification and traceability of sheep in Romania, visits to quarantine farms, and boarding control procedures.

The Moroccan representatives were also interested in the functioning of information systems regarding sheep genetics and professional organizations in the sheep sector.