Freight delays at Tangier Med raise costs, put Moroccan exports at risk

Mounting congestion at Morocco’s Tangier Med port is disrupting freight transport, increasing costs for exporters and threatening shipments of perishable goods destined for European markets, according to Morocco’s transport industry.

Abdelilah Hafidi, president of the National Federation of Transport and Logistics at the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), said prolonged delays are leaving truck drivers stranded and placing additional pressure on Morocco’s export supply chains.

“The situation has become increasingly difficult,” Hafidi told Hespress, warning that the delays are particularly damaging for exporters of fresh agricultural products.

Hafidi said traffic through Tangier Med, Morocco’s largest commercial port and principal gateway to Europe, has grown dramatically since the facility opened.

Annual truck traffic has increased from approximately 150,000 vehicles during the port’s early years to between 500,000 and 700,000 trucks today, he said.

He also pointed to tighter inspection procedures that have lengthened processing times.

While acknowledging that border inspections are a matter of national sovereignty, Hafidi said nearly all freight trucks now pass through scanning systems, where waiting times can stretch to two or three days before crossing to Spain.

Truck drivers often undergo additional inspections upon arriving at the Spanish port of Algeciras, further extending transit times.

The delays pose particular challenges for Morocco’s agricultural exports, including fruits and vegetables produced in regions such as Agadir and Berkane.

Those products are transported in refrigerated trucks that consume fuel continuously while waiting in queues.

“The longer the delays, the higher the operating costs become because refrigeration systems must keep running,” Hafidi said.

He added that transport operators are often unable to pass those additional costs on to customers, reducing already tight profit margins.

According to Hafidi, the bottlenecks are undermining Morocco’s foreign trade competitiveness by increasing transport costs and making it more difficult for Moroccan trucking companies to compete with European operators, particularly Spanish firms, which benefit from easier access to their domestic market and the broader European road network.

“We need to develop new routes and alternatives,” he said.

Transport professionals view the Nador West Med port as a key long-term solution to relieve pressure on Tangier Med.

The approximately $5.6 billion deep-water port is expected to begin operations before the end of 2026, with an initial annual handling capacity of 5 million containers, eventually expanding to 12 million.

Until then, Tangier Med remains Morocco’s primary commercial gateway with Europe, handling more than 50% of the country’s exports and approximately 97% of export truck traffic, making any disruption at the port particularly significant for the country’s trade flows.