Coronavirus: Will Morocco’s Tea Imports be Affected ?

The novel coronavirus has so far infected more than 70,500 people in China wherein the death toll is rising to nearly 1,800 deaths. The World Bank says the global economy will be hit by the virus because of the impact on supply chains that rely on free movement of air transport to carry spare parts.

In China and worldwide, the deadly coronavirus has taken its toll. All sectors, including carmakers, bankers, airliners, importers-exporters of garments, insurers, commodity & luxury good traders…are affected as demand slumps and production is disrupted in the world’s second largest economy and beyond.

In Morocco, tea imports risk a disruption in supply as the North African Kingdom imports annually nearly 70,000 tons of tea from China.

According to the Moroccan Association of Tea & Coffee Industrialists, Morocco is China’s major partner in this sector. Its annual purchases account for over 25 pc of China’s overall tea exports.

In 2019, Moroccan importers purchased more than 62,000 tons of Chinese tea for over $175,000. The supply chain is now under tension and the specter of “a disruption is looming”, warn Moroccan professionals, noting that the Chinese tea plants are still closed due to coronavirus.

Chinese tea exporters say the factories are scheduled to reopen next week, but no official decision has so far been announced.

However, some Moroccan tea traders affirm that the local market remains resilient thanks to its stockpile that can last up to three months.