Andalusian ports take advantage of Morocco's economic development

The Logismed show celebrates its 10th anniversary with a renewed air and a desire to transport ideas and solutions to ensure that goods reach their destination. This is the atmosphere among the participants in an event that brings together the best of the transport and logistics sector gathered in Casablanca to help the exchange of goods on the African continent, between Africa and Europe, in general, and between Spain and Morocco, in particular.

Invited by the organisers to the inauguration, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil, stressed that his ministry has made great efforts to develop national logistics competitiveness. For the Moroccan Transport Minister, the improvement of logistics services is an essential tool for Morocco's industrial transformation.

In statements to Atalayar, the minister recalled that the need to transport goods and passengers between the two sides of the Strait of Gibraltar makes transport and logistics key elements, bearing in mind that most of the trade between Spain and Morocco is carried out by sea, as is the Marhaba operation. The Transport Minister referred to the major summer operation (Operation Crossing the Strait, OPE) which saw almost 3 million people travel through the Strait last year, mostly to spend their holidays in Morocco and other parts of North Africa from various European countries.

Abdeljalil indicated that it is not only the northern ports that are important for the transport of goods. In this sense, he affirmed that ports such as Dakhla are also important for the role Morocco can play as a logistics hub in sub-Saharan Africa. "I think Dakhla will be a great success", he concluded.

The geographical proximity, close trade relations and the importance of the Moroccan market encouraged Extenda to participate in this edition of Logismed with the seven Andalusian port authorities: Algeciras, Huelva, Cadiz, Seville, Malaga, Motril and Almeria. 

Ijlal Fassi, Director in Morocco of Extenda (Agency for the internationalisation of companies of the Andalusian Regional Government) explained that Andalusia represents 30% of maritime trade between Spain and Morocco, in other words, a third of the 573 million tonnes that transit between the two countries pass through Andalusian ports.

Fassi recalled that exports from Moroccan companies to the North African country exceeded Catalonia in 2022, for the third time in the last decade. The figure last year reached 2,000 million euros. Hence the importance of the presence of the Andalusian ports at a fair such as Logismed. The Extenda representative pointed out that Andalusian exports to Morocco grew by 22% last year compared to 2021.

Logismed is a showcase to offer services and expand business. Algetransit offers freight forwarding and customs services in Algeciras and other ports. It seeks to consolidate clients and open up other markets thanks to the direct contact that is enjoyed at this type of event. Ramses Molina is the Director of Traffic and Logistics at Algetransit.

Molina explained to Atalayar that his company wants to assert its position as a leader in the fresh fish, seafood and frozen fish sector. "The level of demand is extremely high because we have to help the client so that these products reach their destination in Spain and the rest of Europe without delay, in order to preserve their freshness". The Algentransit representative points to Mauritania and Senegal as countries that are exporting more and more agricultural produce to Europe. "Almeria, the market garden of Europe, is increasingly dedicating itself to Premium products, Morocco is exporting the quality that Almeria used to have and Mauritania and other African countries are monopolising what Morocco used to sell", added Molina. 

Logismed has served as a stage to take the temperature of the transport and logistics sector after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Topics of discussion included the role of technology and digitalisation, decarbonisation and how to reach customers through increasingly efficient distribution channels. 

At Logismed, omni-channeling was one of the main themes of the expert panels, who insisted on this marketing strategy that creates valuable experiences between a company or business and its customers, through all the means of contact it has in place, whether physical or digital. The goal is to maintain a long-lasting relationship with consumers that can be tailored to their needs.

This commercial approach provides the customer with a unique experience across multiple channels. The aim is to create an exceptional customer experience regardless of the nature of the interaction, be it via a mobile device, a computer or in a physical shop.

Several experts consulted at Logismed agree that the end consumer is becoming more and more demanding. Online shopping is growing exponentially and customers want to receive their products at home the next day. 

Another of the challenges that have become clear at this transport and logistics show is the change that warehouses are undergoing at origin and destination. Warehouses are becoming increasingly robotised to manage the arrival and departure of goods and to increase efficiency in loading and unloading trucks.

In Morocco, many companies are undertaking digitalisation processes to increase efficiency in the management of goods. In this sense, digitisation is a key element for the stock control of a specific product, which is essential to have visibility of where it is at any given moment and thus be able to deliver it to the customer in the shortest possible time.

Logismed has highlighted the need to adapt new technologies to an increasingly demanding global logistics market in which companies and end consumers have the possibility of tracking their goods practically in real time.

Fernando Domingo

From Casablanca