The Challenge
Phytosanitary certificates are official documents issued by governments to confirm that shipments of plants and plant products are free of pests and diseases. These certificates are typically physical paper documents, taking days to obtain and prone to errors, loss and counterfeiting. Prior to April 2020, Moroccan agri-food exporters were facing an average four-hour round trip to designated offices to obtain phytosanitary certificates.
What We Did
In collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Alliance worked with ONSSA, the National Plant Protection Organisation, to integrate Morocco into the IPPC ePhyto Solution enabling the exchange of ePhytos quickly, accurately and at low-cost.
The Impacts
Since exchanging its first electronic phytosanitary certificate in April 2020, Morocco has become one of the system’s most prolific members. Within 18 months, only the United States of America was exchanging more ePhytos than Morocco. Using ePhytos has reduced certificate processing time by 80% and generated annual savings of US$43 million. Around 80% of total agricultural exports in Morocco are now covered by ePhytos.
Morocco
