On behalf of this season, Morocco will export 45,000 tonnes of citrus fruits to the United States, under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
This partnership celebrates, in fact, its 15th anniversary, known as Challenge, according to which the event brought together a delegation of the Chargé d’affaires at the United States Embassy in Morocco, David Greene, and the collective of Moroccan exporters in a conditioning and packaging unit of citrus fruits in Berkane.
The packaging plant is managed by the Kantari group, one of the region’s leading citrus producers and exporters, contributing to the 45,000 tonnes of citrus fruits that Morocco exports each year to the United States. Kantari is also one of hundreds of American and Moroccan companies that benefit from the FTA.
Speaking on the occasion, the American diplomat noted that Morocco remains to this day, the only country in Africa to have concluded an FTA with the United States, adding that since the signing of this agreement, the volume of trade trade between the two countries has increased fivefold, reaching $ 5 billion.
For his part, Karim Kantari, head of the exporting group said that the FTA has contributed greatly to the increase in Moroccan citrus exports to the United States, which did not exceed 4,000 t in 2006.
This strong growth demonstrates the very positive impact of the FTA on citrus exports, with the effects in particular of creating many jobs and improving the standards of the production and packaging process to meet very strict phytosanitary requirements. strict, he added.
