Dates, rice, lentils, almonds… a new formality is required to ship them to Morocco

The new rule applies to cargo transported by Hapag-Lloyd and intended for Morocco. The customers concerned must now submit a “Letter of Indemnity” — or letter of indemnity — before receiving confirmation of their booking, announces the German shipping company.

The document must strictly comply with the template established by Hapag-Lloyd. Until it has been received and approved, the shipping company may leave the transport request pending and refuse to confirm the shipment of the goods.

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The measure concerns chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, fresh or dried dates, pepper, cumin, fennel seeds, ginger, turmeric, rice, millet and flax seeds.

Fourteen categories of goods concerned

Hapag-Lloyd identifies the products by their international customs code. A shipment of rice is therefore covered under code 100630, dates under code 080410, lentils under code 071340 and almonds under code 080212.

The letter of indemnity constitutes a contractual guarantee provided to the carrier. Its precise content has not been published: companies wishing to ship one of the goods concerned must request the template directly from their local Hapag-Lloyd representative.

This requirement does not automatically apply to all maritime transport to Morocco. It concerns bookings made with Hapag-Lloyd, which refers to operational or regulatory requirements without announcing a general obligation imposed on all shipping companies.

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The shipping company also warns that the list of goods may be modified. Exporters will therefore have to check the customs code of their cargo and provide the signed letter before booking their container. Confirmation will be issued only after Hapag-Lloyd has approved the document.