Morocco’s Ports Outpace Spain’s in Cargo Activities

Rabat – Morocco’s ports have dominated freight traffic, outperforming Spain’s major hubs, including Algeciras.

Bloomberg quoted policy manager at the European Shippers’ Council Jordi Espin, who extolled Morocco’s Tanger Med’s remarkable growth in recent years. 

He acknowledged that 10 years ago, Tanger Med was not regarded as a “big competitor.”

“But it has been growing in the meantime, it has hired top professionals with an international education, and now has a vey, very clear business plan,” he said.

Bloomberg said Spanish ports, including Algeciras, have long dominated freight traffic between the Mediterranian Sea and the Atlantic.

However, Morocco’s performance in recent years are rapidly “jeopardizing that hegemony,” according to Bloomberg.

Recent statistics from the Tangier Med Port Authority (TMPA) indicate that the Tanger Med port alone processed 47% of the total port tonnage of Morocco in 2020.

The figures also show that Moroccan ports handled a total of 81 million tonnes in 2020, an increase of 23% compared to 2019.

For analysts of port activities, the statistics are especially remarkable in the context of the COVID-19 crisis that considerably slowed most activities throughout 2020.

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Despite the pandemic, Tanger Ped port handed a total of 5,771,221 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) last year alone.

The number shows a 20% increase compared to 2019.

The port also witnessed the passing of 357,331 tracks, mostly concerning the agro-food sector.

The Moroccan port, however, experienced a decline of 28% in terms of processed new vehicles.

The port handled 358,175 new vehicles last year due to the drop in vehicle sales in Europe and the slowdown of industrial activity of Renault and Groupe PSA between March and May in 2020.

Most of the factories shut down their units for over two months to stem the spread of the pandemic.

Tanger Med frequently receives applause from international media.

In 2018, Spanish business newspaper Cinco Dias highlighted the major transformation the Moroccan port industry has gone through in the past decade.

In October 2020, Financial Times’ FDI Intelligence ranked Morocco’s Tangier Med Zones as the second-leading global freezone.