Ceuta’s Economy Struggles as Border Closure Halts Smuggling and Tourism

The closure of the Bab Sebta borders in August 2019 has hit Ceuta very hard. While the border town of Fnideq is experiencing an economic revival, with the establishment of an industrial zone, Sebta continues to sink into an economic crisis, reports the newspaper l’Economiste.

The closure of the borders has caused a lot of damage on the other side of the Spanish border, as the smuggling activity, which employed hundreds of people in Sebta, is being fought at the highest level.

Similarly, the halt in shopping tourism that benefited dozens of shops is a blow to the city. Thousands of Moroccans, mostly vacationers, used to cross the border to buy clothes, accessories, food products and other items.

Tens of millions of euros passed through there each year, but in the opposite direction, the inhabitants of the city also benefited by doing their shopping in the fresh produce markets of Fnideq as well as Mdiq and Tetouan.

Also, the halt in the bread and fresh fish trade in the markets and restaurants and especially, in the butane gas bottles has created a psychosis within the population. These canisters were bought in Morocco to be used in Sebta. The price difference encouraged the inhabitants to buy them in Morocco (4 euros in Morocco instead of 17 euros in Sebta).

The end of this tourist and commercial chain would have plunged the Spanish enclave into an unprecedented economic crisis.