Melilla Faces Economic Uncertainty as Morocco Border Trade Remains Suspended

It is still too early to know whether Spain and Melilla in particular will experience an economic crisis in 2023. "The hypothesis can neither be excluded nor confirmed" for the moment, explains Jaime Bustillo, an economist from Melilla. According to him, four factors could cause this economic crisis that risks shaking all of Europe, namely: the war in Ukraine, the rise in fuel prices, inflation and the confidence of Europeans to consume or not.

In Melilla, the reopening or not of the commercial customs will add to these four factors. A resumption of the traffic of goods with Morocco would positively impact the city’s economy, assures Bustillo, specifying however that concentrating the companies’ economy on customs would only be a short-term solution. The expert believes that the economic prospects are not good for Melilla, even if tourism is gradually recovering.

On the Moroccan side, the reopening of the commercial customs is not on the agenda, according to sources consulted by El Faro de Melilla. The kingdom rather plans a customs transit between the port of Melilla and the border of Beni Ensar.