The pet industry in Morocco

With an estimated 5.2% of the population in Morocco living in poverty in 2023, financial considerations are just one of the many obstacles that are hindering the pet industry from taking off in this country. Nevertheless, the number of pet owners is on the increase.

Pet population

For 2023, the pet population in Morocco is forecast to rise to 2.65 million pets, an increase of 5%.

It is believed that 34% of Moroccans owned at least one pet in 2022. According to market research company Sunergia, most had cats (64%) and dogs (37%). Birds represent 19% of the pet population in the country, followed by chickens (4%).

Due to religious beliefs, dogs are usually seen as dirty animals. On the other hand, cats are considered clean animals. It’s the main reason why experts believe that the cat population will increase in this North African country.

Research carried out by Euromonitor points out that increasing urbanization and the rising influence of Western lifestyles will also help boost pet ownership.

The market

This year, the local pet industry turnover is forecast to be worth $110.1 million (€99.2M), according to the last data from Euromonitor. This represents a 3.2% increase, mainly driven by the performance of the pet food industry.

In fact, the pet food segment accounted for $95.9 million (€86.46M) in 2022 and it is expected to increase by 3.5% this year.

According to the Office des Changes, last year Morocco imported $118.4 million (€107.5M) worth of pet food, an 11.3% increase. Pet food products are mainly imported from France (30%) and Spain (22.4%).

There are little or no local manufacturers. The leading brands that can be found in the bricks-and-mortar shops are from big manufacturers such as Mars (33% of 2022 revenues), followed by Nestlé (10%) and Nutrivet (4%), according to Euromonitor.

Retailing

Normally, purchases in Morocco are made in-store. Pet products can be found at a few independent stores and major supermarket chains such as Carrefour and Marjane.

While internet sales rose by more than 1% in the last year, consultancy firm Kepios concluded that nearly 6 million people in Morocco – 15.9% of the population – did not have access to the internet in 2022.

Obviously, this limits the options for consumers to purchase pet products online. Euromonitor research concluded that only 11% of cat food retail sales were made online, and dog food e-commerce was even lower at 5%.

New legislation

A 2020 report by the National Institute of Health concluded that rabies was rife, with an average of 391 animal and 22 human cases each year: “The close relationship between the human and canine population is a major risk factor for disease occurrence.” The Moroccan government recently acted and proposed legislation aiming to reinforce the legal framework and regulate contagious diseases that affect domestic animals.