The sheep population was estimated at 24.5 million head in 1999 (Livestock Service, MARA, 1986) which places Morocco among the major sheep raising countries In Africa. Table 2.1 Indicates the trend In sheep numbers since 1960.

Even though the number of sheep is high, total wool production is low. Table 2.7 shows that production decreased from 13 707 tons in 1980 to 9 661 tons in 1984. This decline resulted from drought which affected both the number of sheep sheared and the weight of fleeces.

Most of the wool produced is of the coarse type used for the carpet industry. The fineness of wool of Moroccan sheep varies from 36 to 60 in the UK system which corresponds to a fibre diameter of 25 to 44 u. After cleaning, wool production represents about 45 percent of greasy wool production. This percentage varies from 40 to 75 according to breeds and management system. Table 2.8 indicates fleece weight and wool quality of some native breeds.