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Rabat – The British Department for International Trade (DIT) has announced the removal of 49% of Moroccan tariffs that were “mistakenly imposed” on a variety of UK spirits.
UK’s Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch shared the news with whisky distillers on Thursday in Glenkinchie Distillery near Edinburgh, Scotland. The Victorian-age distillery is known for its Edinburgh malt which is used to create Johnnie Walker, one of the world’s best-selling Scotch whisky brands.
In a communique, the DIT noted that it succeeded in removing import barriers to UK alcohol in Angola, Argentina, and Tunisia, adding that the newly reached agreements unlock export opportunities worth £100 million (MAD 1.2 billion).
The picture shows Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch in Glenkinchie Distillery
“UK spirits are winning markets and securing jobs thanks to the UK’s global trade policy,” UK Director of Public Affairs for Pernod Ricard, a wine and spirits seller, Anishka Jelicich said, stressing that her company supports ongoing free trade negotiations with India.
Highlighting the role of DIT in breaking down market barriers, the director of the world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller thanked the department for its role in resolving “customs paperwork issues” with Morocco, Africa’s fourth-largest market for Scotch whisky.
Despite social and legal restrictions imposed on the consumption of alcohol in Morocco, recent estimates from the Higher Commission for Planning (HCP) indicate that the country’s annual consumption of alcoholic drinks reaches 400 million bottles of beer, 38 million bottles of wine, one million bottles of vodka, and 140,000 bottles of champagne.
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Citing HCP’s data, Moroccan journalist Rachid Niny predicted, amid the recent Oktoberfest controversy, that national alcohol consumption is expected to grow annually by 3-6% with the French Flag Speciale beer remaining the best-selling beer in the North African country.
As alcohol consumption in Morocco is expected to increase in the coming years, UK brands are expected to compete in the Moroccan market alongside well-established French alcohol brands.
Meanwhile, Moroccan wine producers are set to continue to export 10-15% of their local product to the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Japan, China, and the US. In 2019, Spanish news outlet Periodistas named Morocco Africa’s second-largest wine export after South Africa.
