Rabat – Made in Nigeria products “are massively in demand” in Morocco, said Ahmed Gombe, CEO of the African Network Center.
Gombe argued in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria that the numerous Nigerian products have good market potential in Morocco and other parts of Africa.
He further urged Nigerian exporters to invest and promote local products to contribute to job creation and economic boom in their country.
Recalling King Mohammed VI’s promotion of African integration, Gombe said that Morocco-Nigeria trade would be facilitated under this framework.
He added that the African Network Center is working on setting up a new corridor to support the exportation of Nigerian products to Morocco in collaboration with Royal Air Maroc and Nigerian Export-Import Bank.
“We are trying to formalize the market; we are creating the Nigeria Import Export Corridor Initiative which should be launched before the end of the year,” Gombe explained.
Despite Lagos being located only 4 hours away by plane from Morocco, Gombe argued that “Nigerians have not discovered Morocco yet.”
He stressed that Moroccan-Nigerian cooperation would be beneficial for both parties.
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Some Nigerian products have “big market potential in Morocco,” said Gombe. He cited Nigerian malt drinks that are sold at $7 in the North African country as well as Nigerian beans, seasoning, egusi, crayfish, starfish, and ogbono seeds, which are sold at $10 per kilogram in Morocco.
Nigerian bathing soaps along with yam, plantain, cassava flour, garri, and red oil are also consumed in Morocco, noted the CEO of the African Network Center.
Besides Morocco, Nigerian products, food, and drinks are also popular in Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, according to Gombe.
In 2020, Morocco imported $28.9 million in goods from Nigeria, particularly Bran ($12.7 million), petroleum gas ($8.91 million), and starch residue ($4.22 million). Still, Nigerian exports to Morocco have annually dropped by 2.48% in the past 12 years.
In contrast, Morocco’s exports to Nigeria have annually grown in the past 25 years by 13.5% to reach $186 million in 2020, up from $7.93 million in 1995. The exports include fertilizers ($136 million), processed fish ($28.5 million), and carboxylic acids ($5 million).
