Vietnam’s agriculture products positively reviewed in Morocco

Morocco is one of countries that are the most stable in politics and social issues in Africa, according to Mr. Do Viet Phuong, leader of Vietnam Trade Office in Morocco.

Morocco has its advantageous geography, being close to Europe and on the trading route between Indian Ocean, Atlantic and Mediterranean. It is capable the country could be a gateway for Vietnam’s goods reaching markets in Africa, Middle East and Europe.

African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) took effect since January 1, 2021 and made African becoming the biggest free trade region counting on the number of country members, since the World Trade Organization (WTO) established.

That will be an advantage condition, helping Vietnam’s goods penetrate the Morocco’s market, then bridge to the other markets in the region.

In the last 10 years, trade relationship between Vietnam and Morocco develop positively. The two ways trade turnover grows well even though it has not followed any rule and not been so stable.

Basically, agriculture and aquatic products are important export goods of Vietnam to Morocco, of which processed agriculture and aquatic products account for nearly 60% of overall export turnover of Vietnam to Morocco.

Products that are officially exported to Morocco include rice, pepper, canned pineapple, telephone and components, computers, coffee, seafood, spices, chemical products, textiles, footwear, etc, of which pepper, coffee, cashew nuts, processed foodstuffs and spices continue to predominate.

There is a huge demand of coffee in Morocco, Mr. Phuong says. Traders in Morocco usually import unroasted coffee to process by their own to suit the taste of the people in the country. Coffee is a commodity that Vietnam can have advantages in trading and potential in pushing ups exports to Morocco. The consumption demand for agriculture products in general and processed products in particular of the Moroccan is quite stable.

The quality of Vietnam’s agriculture products is reviewed positively by Moroccan consumers and also from other countries in the region, Mr. Phuong says. For Vietnam’s products with capabilities of large production like cashew nuts, there is good competitiveness in Morocco.

However, the tendency to protect agriculture products in Morocco is quite high because the country's development orientation also focuses on promoting agricultural production.

Tax rates applied to imported goods in general and agriculture and aquatic products in particular are still high, with some items reaching more than 60%, including taxes and fees.

Regulations on quarantine and food hygiene and safety are quite strict. Some of Morocco's customs clearance regulations tend to favor importers.

Besides, the payment procedures in general have some limitations because of customary methods in the country, which are at low level of guarantee and cause passive situations for exporters. Exporters are recommended to make careful checking of importers as some do not have high reputation and to avoid late payment, even though that only happen with a few specific entities due to the limited potential of enterprises and at the time of uncertainty in the market.