Moroccan Exporters Face Schengen Visa Hurdles, Hampering EU Trade Efforts

After Moroccan truckers, it is the turn of Moroccan executives (exporters) to face the difficulty of obtaining visas to travel to Europe. They are unable to get an appointment to submit their visa application. Illegal intermediaries have resurfaced online, operating the consular services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, report several Moroccan media, as well as media specializing in monitoring the Schengen area, stating that they reserve and resell appointments at exorbitant prices on the black market. These intermediaries thus take advantage of an existing shortage of appointments, exacerbated during the summer period by the influx of tourists and students seeking visas, but also of the tense diplomatic context between Morocco and France.

Consequently, the difficulty, or even the impossibility, of making an appointment to obtain a visa is a hindrance to the participation of Moroccan professionals in B2B and networking trade events, including major agricultural exhibitions such as the next edition of Fruit Attraction to be held in Madrid in early October, reports Fresh Plaza. "This year, we cannot participate in Fruit Attraction in Madrid due to the chaotic outsourcing of consular services. Getting an appointment to apply for a visa is almost impossible. We simply gave up participating in the event, which is very penalizing given that most of our business is done with European customers," complains a fresh produce exporter based in northern Morocco.

"My visa expired just before the summer period. For the first time since the start of my business, I will miss Fruit Attraction, and this is also the case for many other exporters whose visas have expired. Exhibitors benefit from special procedures through the organizers or chambers of commerce, but this is not the case for all visitors to the exhibition. I chose not to give in to the blackmail of illegal intermediaries and not to request interventions that should not be necessary for such a basic service," testifies another fresh produce exporter, based in central Morocco.