Visa Restrictions on Moroccan Truckers Threaten Exports to France

"The French Embassy has decided to tighten the procedures for obtaining visas for Moroccan TIR truck drivers who ensure transport to Europe, thus taking Moroccan exports, especially perishable goods, hostage," ASMEX said in a statement. According to it, the situation is all the more worrying given the imminent start of the citrus and early vegetable export campaign and in view of the current global situation of maritime freight overheating, which has resulted this year in the scarcity of ships, spaces and refrigerated containers used for the export of this type of product.

Faced with the situation, Asmex says it has written to several stakeholders, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, the Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Green Economy and Digital, and the French Embassy in Morocco. It calls on them to urgently unblock the situation. It also proposes some solutions, including providing a Fast-Track dedicated to TIR truck drivers to obtain or renew their visas as soon as possible.

"Morocco must act quickly and effectively. All the bodies concerned must intervene urgently to unblock the situation," pleads Abdelaziz Mantrach, vice-president of ASMEX, also president of the Logistics Commission, noting that Moroccan carriers are already suffering from the problem of scarcity of ships and availability of containers, and that if in addition they are deprived of the necessary visas for the shipment of products to Europe, this will handicap exports.