A senior official from the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA) announced that the first shipment of Moroccan citrus fruits arrived in Japan last Wednesday. This shipment was accepted by Japanese health authorities after complying with all sanitary and regulatory requirements.
This milestone reflects the strong cooperation between ONSSA and Japanese phytosanitary authorities, which conducted audits in Morocco, inspecting production sites, packing stations, and the health certification system approved by ONSSA.
Opening the Japanese market to Moroccan citrus fruits marks a significant step in strengthening their global presence.
Additionally, a Moroccan trade mission is set to visit Tokyo after Ramadan, from April 14 to 19. This delegation will include over 100 representatives from both Morocco’s and Japan’s public and private sectors, including exporters, government officials, and Japanese importers.
Coinciding with the trade mission, a major communication campaign will be launched to promote Moroccan citrus fruits as a premium-quality product and to facilitate the entry of more fresh Moroccan products into Japanese and broader Asian markets.
The arrival of the first Moroccan citrus shipment in Japan presents promising prospects for Morocco’s agricultural sector, potentially increasing exports to Asian markets and strengthening the country’s economic growth. It also highlights Morocco’s ability to adapt to global market requirements and provide high-quality products that meet consumer expectations worldwide.
According to data from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2022, Japan’s imports from Morocco totaled 60.1 billion yen, consisting mainly of seafood and phosphates, while Japanese exports to Morocco amounted to 31 billion yen, including automobiles and machinery.
The Moroccan Embassy in Japan regularly organizes business forums in Tokyo and other cities in collaboration with organizations such as JICA, JETRO, UNIDO, and JCCME.
In 2023, JETRO co-organized the Japan-Morocco Business Forum in Casablanca, which gathered approximately 200 participants from both countries’ public and private sectors.
As part of economic and social cooperation, Japan has provided Morocco with loans worth 332.449 billion yen, grants of 37.922 billion yen, and technical assistance valued at 41.382 billion yen as of November 2022. This support aims to enhance economic competitiveness and sustainable growth, focusing on infrastructure development, agriculture, aquaculture, education, and public health to reduce socio-economic disparities between urban and rural areas.
Recent Japanese-supported projects include:
- The Economic and Social Development Program for printing machinery (2019)
- The Economic and Social Development Program for medical equipment (2020)
- The COVID-19 Response Support Program (2020)
- A Development Policy Loan to improve the learning environment in basic education (2022).
