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Agadir – Several Moroccan trucking companies, speaking to local Moroccan media, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of governmental support after the closure of borders and other restrictive measures.
The extension of anti-COVID-19 measures in the European Union, due to emergence of new strains of the virus, have put pressure on many trucking companies outside of Europe.
Speaking to local media, Fatima Mashkour, the owner of an international transport company in Fez, highlighted the difficulties that trucking companies face in the wake of “the closure of borders in European countries due to the pandemic since March of last year.”
After Morocco “decided to shut its borders without thinking about the fate of those working through the ports that were closed,” many Moroccan companies faced a decrease in revenue, “or rather, almost bankruptcy,” stressed Mashkour.
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The spokeswoman also emphasized that many companies acquired their trucks through bank loans. And due to the decrease in their revenues in 2020, many such companies have had to close their doors temporarily or even permanently.
Even before COVID-19 struck, many trucking companies suffered “from poor organization, chaos at work, the lack of price controls and lack of monitoring,” Mashkour explained.
She insisted that the Moroccan government, especially the Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics, should pay more attention to the damages suffered by companies operating in this sector and respond to their calls for aid.
A recent statement by the Tangier Med Port Authority said that despite COVID-19-induced difficulties throughout 2020, the port saw a similar level of international transport truck traffic to 2019. According to the statement, most of the truck traffic was related to the agro-food sector.
