Morocco Exported Over 500,000 Face Masks to Algeria Despite Tensions

Rabat – Algeria is the second African destination for Moroccan-made face mask exports, Morocco’s Ministry of Industry revealed.

As of June 8, Morocco exported 526,050 face masks to Algeria, or 2.85% of its total mask exports.

In a recent press conference, the spokesperson of Algeria’s government, Belaid Mohand-Oussaid, accused Morocco’s consul in Oran, Aherdane Boutahar, of “spying” in favor of Morocco’s intelligence services.

Soon after the accusations, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, responded by saying, “given the extreme gravity of such remarks, Morocco expresses its dismay at these allegations emanating from a representative of an institution supposed to exercise discernment and restraint.”

The Moroccan FM also summoned the Algerian Ambassador to Morocco, Abdelhamid Abdaoui, on June 9 to explain the “ridiculous and baseless” remarks.

France tops Moroccan face mask destinations

Besides Algeria, Morocco has also exported face masks to two African states—Mauritania and Senegal. Morocco’s exports to Mauritania reached 790,000 masks, or 4.27% of the country’s exports, while Senegal received 10,000 Moroccan masks (0.05% of total exports).

In total, Morocco has exported nearly 18.5 million face masks, with the vast majority going to Europe.

France is the first destination for Moroccan masks. The Hexagon has imported over 6.2 million masks (33.6% of Morocco’s exports).

Meanwhile, Portugal imported 5.3 million masks (28.5%), followed by Spain (2.7 million, 14.63%), Italy (1.7 million, 9.42%), and Germany (1.0 million, 5.46%).

Other countries that received shipments of Moroccan face masks include Mexico (200,200 masks, 1.08%), Belgium (20,000 masks, 0.11%), and Saudi Arabia (3,591 masks, 0.02%).

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in early March, Morocco’s Ministry of Industry urged textile companies to produce medical protective gear, including face masks and hazmat suits.

In May, the ministry authorized the export of face masks after production in 69 Moroccan companies helped exceed the national demand.

According to the ministry, 77% of Morocco’s face mask exports are woven fabric masks, while 23% are made of nonwoven material.