MP James Duddridge: Morocco, UK’s Gateway to African Market

Conservative MP James Duddridge has described Morocco as a longstanding partner and friend offering UK huge post-Brexit trade opportunities.

In an Op-Ed published Wednesday by the House, founded by a cross-party group of UK MPs, Mr. Duddridge said when it comes to post-Brexit trade opportunities, the UK government is right to prioritise building on the UK’s unique 800-year-old relationship with Morocco.

“No opportunity looms as large as with Morocco,” he added, noting that trade has been a key component of the Morocco-UK relationship.

The two kingdoms have enjoyed formal trade relations since the first commercial treaty was signed in 1721 in Fez: three centuries later, when the UK left the European Union in 2021, the signing of a Morocco-UK Association Agreement saw bilateral trade double in just 12 months.

He also recalled the remarks of Nigel Huddleston, the Business and Trade Minister saying that the UK is absolutely committed to enhancing trade with Morocco and fostering cooperation with it in priority areas such as education, renewable energy, and infrastructure.

Morocco is well positioned not only by its proximity to the UK but as the “Gateway to Africa” to support and help catalyse UK-Africa trade, business, and commercial ties, offering both proximity and privileged access to the African market, said James Duddridge.

The North African Kingdom produces green agriculture, utilises sustainable farming and produces an array of fresh products, underlined the British MP.

Since the association agreement signed in 2021, total trade in goods and services between the two countries has increased by 50%. In 2022, the UK and Morocco did about £3.1 billion-worth of bilateral trade and the UK is using the association agreement with Morocco to boost that even further.

Fruits and vegetable are the number one good being imported to the UK from Morocco – 25% of tomatoes consumed in the UK, 20% of soft foods and 60% of canned sardines are from Morocco – while demand for Moroccan strawberries also saw a five-fold increase from 2020 to 2021. Morocco’s imports from the UK grew by 49% from 2021 to 2022.

The UK Government is also supporting British businesses to take advantage of the significant opportunities in Morocco, including through £4.5 billion of available finance through UK Export Finance who help UK companies to win export contracts by providing attractive financing terms to their buyers.

For MP Duddridge, Morocco’s strategic position is key to potential triangular trade partnerships and the gateway to African markets, with TangerMed, the largest transhipment hub in Africa and the Mediterranean, being linked to 40 ports in Africa.

Enhancing trade partnership between Morocco and UK will generate huge mutual gains for the two Kingdoms, affirmed the British MP.