Morocco Launches National Foreign Trade Portal
On May 18, 2026, a collaborative effort between Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Trade, the National Port Agency (ANP), the Tanger Med Port Authority, and the Customs and Tax Administration (ADII) officially launched a new national foreign trade portal in Casablanca. Known as the "Portail Marocain des Procédures du Commerce Extérieur," this innovative platform is now accessible to the business community at the official web address www.portnet.ma. The initiative aims to dismantle administrative barriers by gradually integrating existing information systems, thereby transforming bureaucratic inefficiencies into tangible economic advantages for the Kingdom.
This new digital platform does not serve as an additional layer of bureaucracy; rather, it acts as a coordinating online interface led by PortNet SA. According to Omar Hejira, the Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, the global competitiveness of modern economies is no longer solely reliant on production capabilities. Instead, the speed of administrative processes determines market success. The portal will connect over 100,000 stakeholders, including exporters, logistics providers, and banks, significantly reducing processing times for core processes by 20 to 50 percent.
Impact on Key Export Sectors
For export-oriented sectors, particularly fishing, which markets approximately 85 percent of its production internationally, this centralization offers considerable relief. Zakia Driouich, Secretary of State for Fisheries, highlighted that her department digitally processes over 38,000 catch certificates annually. By consolidating with other regulatory bodies, such as the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA), the new system minimizes information gaps and simplifies tracking shipments across various transport modes.
To ensure technical interoperability, the involved institutions in Casablanca have signed several agreements. Notably, the formal integration of the Tanger Med Group into the PortNet SA holding company underscores the strategic importance of this reform. Morocco has heavily invested in both maritime and terrestrial infrastructure over recent years, and the new digital portal represents a logical software upgrade to complement this hardware. It aims to prevent physical transportation capacities from being hindered by cumbersome paper-based customs procedures.
In the long term, this modernization seeks to structurally secure Morocco's role as a continental hub between Africa and Europe. With a burgeoning and ambitious workforce, the country is keen to create reliable employment opportunities in export-driven sectors. A transparent and efficient foreign trade framework is viewed as a central catalyst for attracting foreign direct investments and ensuring the sustainability of social systems.
As reported by maghreb-post.de.
