U.S. awards funds for Moroccan cold storage development

U.S. awards funds for Moroccan cold storage development    The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a $462,970 grant to Morocco's National Office of Fisheries to continue support of the North African country's development of cold storage infrastructure.
   The grant complements Morocco's assistance under its compact with the U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC).
   USTDA said the grant would be used to fund technical assistance in the creation of cold storage infrastructure and facilities to reduce losses in Morocco's artisanal fisheries sector. The agency noted that fishing is an important sector in Morocco, representing 60 percent of Moroccan food exports and 15 percent of total national exports.
   'Given the sector's importance to the national economy, Morocco's $697.5 million compact with the MCC includes a small-scale fisheries project, which seeks to transform the small-scale fisheries sector by modernizing the means of catching, storing and marketing fish,' the USTDA said. 'The grant awarded (Tuesday) will focus on technologies and practices in cold chain storage and infrastructure to preserve the quality of fish production and improve the value of the catch.'
   The grant follows the award of $531,810 last year to Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing to find technical assistance in the creation of cold storage infrastructure and facilities to reduce losses in palm date production. Palm dates are covered within the MCC's Fruit Tree Productivity Project, which seeks to stimulate growth in the agricultural sector and reduce the volatility of agricultural production.
   The opportunity to provide the USTDA-funded assistance to Morocco's National Office of Fisheries will compete on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Web site. A link to the FBO announcement will be posted on the USTDA's Web site.
   'Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO announcement,' the USTDA said. 'The National Office of Fisheries will select the U.S. contractor that will carry out the assistance.'