Moroccan Exporters Face Delays at Tanger Med Port, Risking Produce Quality

The congestion of the port of Tanger Med, with endless lines of trucks carrying cargoes of fruits and vegetables destined for European countries, is causing significant damage to exporters.

Some of them have denounced to Rue20 the abnormally long customs clearance time at this port, calling on the competent authorities to provide modern means to the customs in order to streamline the traffic of trucks. Others have said they have spent more than three days before crossing the border, a long wait that has affected the quality of their fruits and vegetables which have started to rot.

This situation undermines the image of Tanger Med and Morocco, they say, pointing out that in the ports of France or Spain, the waiting time for trucks does not exceed seven hours. Moroccan exporters are calling on the government to take urgent measures to address this problem, which could lead to a drop in export volumes.

The congestion of the port of Tanger Med would be due to the strengthening of police and customs controls, following the dismantling of drug trafficking networks that conceal large quantities of narcotics in freight trucks bound for European countries.