FPC visits Morocco for SIAM 2011

Following our 65th Annual Dinner in February with guest nation Morocco - we were invited to attend the SIAM agricultural exhibition in Meknes for the 2nd year, by the kind invitation of the Moroccan Embassy and courtesy of FPC member Maroc Export.

The Kingdom of Morocco is located in North Africa and has a population of almost 33 million in an area of 710,850sq km. It is part of the Maghreb region, besides Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya with whom it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.

On 27 April a team of FPC members along journalist Richard Ford (Grocer Magazine), arrived at Heathrow's T4 to join other groups heading for Casablanca. Our happy band included Jerry Green (Greencell), Chris Rowe (DG Fruit), Andy Colburn (Gilbert Thompson), Russell Davis (Univeg Katope), Shaun Roche (Bristol Fruit Sales) and Stephane Constantine (Chingford). Nigel Jenney and Angie Stuart led the team which became affectionately known as 'The Group B'.

We stayed at the opulent Sofitel hotel in the capital city of Rabat, the 2nd largest city after Casablanca. Located on the Atlantic Coast it is the catalyst for local economy and considerable investment in the city's infrastructure sits impressively alongside the preservation of significant ancient historical sites.

An early start was required, alongside other groups, to travel by minibus the 140km east to Meknes which is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and home to the country's largest agricultural trade exhibition. The Meknes-Tafilalt region contains 617.465ha of prime agricultural land used largely for olive growing, market gardening and fruit farming as well as operating the heart of Moroccan wine.

Once inside the exhibition, we visited the stands of our good friends Dellasus and Geda. In addition, we were treated to fabulous Moroccan hospitality at the stand of Domaines Brahim Zniber (pictured above), major olive oil producers also involved in packing and marketing of fruit & veg for import-export with 2 Global Gap certified packing units in Meknes and Agadir. A visit to the stand of the Maroc Fruit Board provided lively discussion and completed our first morning.

Back on the bus - we travelled beyond the outskirts of Meknes to the olive groves and vineyards of the prestigous Chateau Roslane where we were kindly hosted by President Brahim Zniber (below centre) and his Director General Omar Aouad. A tour of the impressive winery was followed by a drinks reception serving the very finest wine and followed by spectacular traditional Moroccan dining - this was a major highlight of the trip, especially as this wine was provided for our annual dinner at the Savoy - sipping a glass or two with its creators, on a beautiful terrace in the warm Moroccan sunshine was a real treat.

Mr Zniber, a charming gentleman now in his 90th year, pioneered the art of wine making in Morocco and established Celliers de Meknes as a leader in this sector producing the only Moroccan wine to have been granted the 'Chateau' appellation. Grape varieties grown here include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay - 30million bottles are produced annually with an 85% market share - the operation is extremely impressive, the hospitality was outstanding and the wine was exceptional.

The Zniber family is also famous for its extra virgin olive oil - the fine olive groves of La Maassera located on the Saiss plain at the foot of the Atlas Mountains produce Caracterre which ranks amongst the finest on the Moroccan market. This excellent product was served with lunch and we were privileged to be given a bottle each to bring home.

Day 2 - we were back on the bus to the exhibition and then on to one of Morocco's finest and well known processing companies, Domaine de Aicha, for a tour and lunch. Established in 1929 by one of the oldest and most famous Moroccan Jewish families (Chairman below centre), this successful business is now in its 3rd generation and whilst the product, together with the winery, was not directly linked to our industry, it was extremely interesting to view how technologically advanced this country has become. Investment in education and industry has resulted in Morocco's ability to compete with the rest of Europe in high quality exports.

We were delighted to spend a little time soaking up the culture of Rabat with a guided tour of some of the most ancient and impressive monuments including the mausoleum which houses the tombs of the current King's father and grandfather (below left) - each of the 33 flags on display represents a Moroccan region and the decorative mosaics were simply breathtaking.

In stark contrast to the traditional side of the city, a state of the art tram service is about to open providing an impressive travel network both in Rabat and also in Casablanca.

We thank HH Princess Lalla Joumala Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Court of St James for her support of this initiative and also Larbi Bouttaf, our great friend and embassy contact who co-ordinated operations.

Hamza Ghazi and the girls from Maroc Export pictured below looked after us tirelessly, offering true Moroccan hopsitality and we look forward to meeting up again soon.

Aside from the kind hospitality of the hosting nation, there are many contributory factors to the success of these visits - primarily the character of the delegates, and our team was outstanding - a synchronising of wit and humour of side splitting magnitude, combined with either a current trading relationship with Morocco or a serious interest in doing so, making 'The Group B' a pleasure to host. This mix of professional, highly knowledgeable importers from around the UK, made this trip a resounding success and we look forward to the next opportunity with great anticipation.