EBRD Loans Morocco MAD 55 Mln to Boost Olive Oil Sector

London - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to develop the olive oil sector in Morocco with a loan of up to MAD 55 million (€5 million equivalent).

EBRD's loan, to benefit Al Dahra Holding subsidiaries in Morocco, Al Dahra Morocco Factories (ADFAC) and Al Dahra Morocco (ADMO), will finance the construction and commissioning of a new olive oil factory in the Fez-Meknes region, according to a statement by the Bank.

Through this investment, Al Dahra will leverage its existing olive farms in the Fez-Meknes region and aggregate other olive farmers in the region to start producing olive oil, targeting local and export markets under the brand name "Oliva". 

This is the Bank's first investment in the olive oil sector in Morocco and the sixth in the northern African region. 

Morocco is one of the largest producers of olive oil globally. Over the past five years, the EBRD, in partnership with FAO and other stakeholders, has been working through a number of actions, including workshops and training programmes, to increase the competitiveness of the olive oil sector through improvements in efficiency, product quality and raising skills and standards along the Moroccan olive oil value chain.

Al Dahra is a leader in agribusiness, specialising in the cultivation, production and trading of animal feed and food commodities and supply chain management. The group manages and operates a land bank of 350,000 acres globally in addition to forage processing facilities and rice and flour mills, with total annual production exceeding 4.5 million metric tonnes.