Optimising import and export processes in the agri-food sector

Helping Morocco implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement

Article 7.9
Perishable Goods

1) With a view to preventing avoidable loss or deterioration of perishable goods, and provided that all regulatory requirements have been met, each Member shall provide for the release of perishable goods:

(a) under normal circumstances within the shortest possible time; and

(b) in exceptional circumstances where it would be appropriate to do so, outside the business hours of customs and other relevant authorities.

2) Each Member shall give appropriate priority to perishable goods when scheduling any examinations that may be required.

3) Each Member shall either arrange or allow an importer to arrange for the proper storage of perishable goods pending their release. The Member may require that any storage facilities arranged by the importer have been approved or designated by its relevant authorities. The movement of the goods to those storage facilities, including authorizations for the operator moving the goods, may be subject to the approval, where required, of the relevant authorities. The Member shall, where practicable and consistent with domestic legislation, upon the request of the importer, provide for any procedures necessary for release to take place at those storage facilities.

4) In cases of significant delay in the release of perishable goods, and upon written request, the importing Member shall, to the extent practicable, provide a communication on the reasons for the delay.
Article 10.1
Formalities and Documentation Requirements

1) With a view to minimizing the incidence and complexity of import, export, and transit formalities and to decreasing and simplifying import, export, and transit documentation requirements and taking into account the legitimate policy objectives and other factors such as changed circumstances, relevant new information, business practices, availability of techniques and technology, international best practices, and inputs from interested parties, each Member shall review such formalities and documentation requirements and, based on the results of the review, ensure, as appropriate, that such formalities and documentation requirements are:

(a) adopted and/or applied with a view to a rapid release and clearance of goods, particularly perishable goods;

(b) adopted and/or applied in a manner that aims at reducing the time and cost of compliance for traders and operators;

(c) the least trade restrictive measure chosen where two or more alternative measures are reasonably available for fulfilling the policy objective or objectives in question; and

(d) not maintained, including parts thereof, if no longer required

2) The Committee shall develop procedures for the sharing by Members of relevant information and best practices, as appropriate.

Events

Business process analysis training
15 October 2018

Developed from the ground up with Moroccan government agencies and businesses, this project aims to cut the time and cost of trading agri-food products by designing and implementing electronic systems to address two major border issues caused by paper processes.

First, every container passing through Morocco’s main ports must be weighed twice – once when full and once when empty. The weigh data is recorded manually on paper slips and taken by hand to those who need it, for example for calculating import duties or the load balance for a ship. This leads to trucks being delayed in the port area, which is a major issue when trading perishable agri-food products which are sensitive to time and temperature.

Second, traders importing or exporting plants or plant products must acquire a paper phytosanitary certificate to show that the material is considered free from pests and that it complies with plant health regulations. In Morocco, as in most countries, these paper certificates accompany the shipment or are exchanged by post with trading partners. This makes for a lengthy process, where any errors take a long time to rectify, and there is a risk of loss, damage or fraud.

What are we doing

Alongside multiple Moroccan border agencies and local and international agri-food companies, our project will:

design and introduce a paperless, automated data exchange between the weigh bridges at Morocco’s main ports and those who use the data with an initial focus on the Port of Casablanca
support Morocco in introducing and sharing electronic phytosanitary certificates (ePhytos) with other countries and join the “e-Phyto Hub”, an initiative led by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention

Benefits

Digitising the weighing process will:

make the flow of goods more efficient for the terminal operator, the cargo inspection company, the road transporter, the clearing agent and of course traders importing and exporting
also benefit the government and its agencies through higher levels of compliance and efficiency gains.

Ultimately we expect to reduce the clearance time for weighing by 25 percent.

The use of ePhytos will:

mean certificates are transferred immediately between countries, reducing the risk of loss, damage or fraud and cutting delays and costs for traders at borders
reduce the administrative burden on border agencies
pave the way for Morocco to exchange other types of data with trading partners

It is expected to reduce the clearance time for imports and exports requiring this certification by two days.

Measurement

We will measure the time taken for border compliance for agri-food imports and exports using the weighing process and/or ePhytos. We will conduct a study before and after the project to assess the impact on time and cost of trading using our Total Transport and Logistics Costs (TTLC) methodology, which measures both direct and indirect transport costs. Ultimately, we look for evidence of wider benefits for society such as increased opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

How can the private sector get involved?

We are looking for businesses to get involved in a wide range of activities, including:

identifying international best practice
providing technical expertise to design and pilot the new systems
collecting and sharing data
delivering training.

Timeline

The project will be implemented in three overlapping phases over 20 months.

Phase 1

4 months

Planning

Phase 2

5 months

Analysis and design of new processes using international best practice

Phase 3

14 months

Piloting, delivering training and launching new systems

Get involved

Find out how to get involved in the wider Alliance by clicking the boxes to the right.

Contact us in Morocco

C

Implementing a risk management system for the National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute
See the project
G

Introducing a risk-based pre-arrival customs process
See the project

Morocco