Morocco’s Agricultural Exports to UK Reached $554.37 Million in 2023

Morocco’s agricultural exports to the UK reached MAD 5.5 billion, or $554.37 million last year, new data shared by Moroccan representatives in an investment-focused event on Tuesday in London.

The Agricultural Development Agency (ADA) organized the event in cooperation with Morocco’s embassy in the UK, serving as a platform to discuss investment and business between Morocco and  British investors.

During the meeting, ADA director of aggregation and partnership Saida Ouarzane said that the Morocco-UK partnership agreement enabled a boost in the UK trade exchanges between the two countries.

The UK has since 2021 become the second-largest importer of Moroccan agricultural products globally, she said.

Morocco’s agricultural exports to the UK represented a 56% growth in 2023, compared to 2021, Ouarzane added, noting that the data reflect an eightfold increase since 2010.

Morocco’s ambassador to the UK, Hakim Hajoui, also shared his perspective on cooperation between the two countries, noting that the UK and Morocco share a commitment to sustainable agriculture and are already partners in the field of food security.

He said that innovative partnerships between the two countries could contribute to enhancing the quality of final products and their exports, noting that Morocco and the UK have complementary seasons.

Morocco and the UK share a common goal of fostering deeper ties and have been boosting their cooperation since the signing of an Association Agreement in 2019.

Read also: Trade, English Learning: Pillars of Evolving UK-Morocco Cooperation

The partnership spans several key areas, including security, bilateral cooperation, and trade, with both countries working together to boost their economic and diplomatic ties.

In recent years, MPs from the UK have increasingly recognized Morocco’s strategic assets and its positioning, urging the UK government to further boost ties with Rabat.

For many MPSs, a significant milestone in these ties would be for the UK to formally recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces or support the Autonomy plan as the most serious and credible political solution to the Sahara dispute.

They argue that this position would align with the growing international support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.

So far, the UK has only emphasized its support for the UN-led political process and Morocco’s efforts to resolve the dispute.

Several powers have taken historic steps, including France which joined the US to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.

Others, like Spain, consider Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most viable political solution to end the territorial dispute – a position shared by over 100 countries within the international community and at least 20 EU countries.

In October, a member of the House of Commons at the British Parliament, Andrew Murrison, called on the UK to adopt a similar position as countries that explicitly expressed support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.

“The UK must align itself” with these countries by establishing a consular and cultural presence in Laayoune and Dakhla,” he said, noting that British support for the Moroccan autonomy plan was necessary to further strengthen UK-Morocco relations.