U.S. Food Export to Morocco

Chihade International supplies American food products to importers and foodservice distributors in Morocco, shipped from our SQF-certified facility in Georgia. We are looking for a distributor partner in Morocco.

Why Morocco

Morocco’s advantage is trade access. The U.S.–Morocco Free Trade Agreement has been in force since 2006, and most U.S. goods now enter duty free — though some sensitive agricultural lines still phase out over longer schedules and tariff-rate quotas remain on high-quality beef, poultry leg quarters and durum wheat.

U.S. agricultural exports were $683.68 million in 2024, with consumer-oriented product at $275.44 million and growing 34% year on year. Retail food imports run to $2.3 billion. Retail is still overwhelmingly traditional: small independent grocers hold 68.6% of sales across roughly 45,000 stores, with hypermarkets at 9.4% and supermarkets 7.8%. About half of modern retail sits in the Casablanca–Rabat corridor.

One friction worth naming: USDA reports that Moroccan importers prefer to buy small quantities to test a line, while U.S. suppliers are typically unwilling to sell small quantities. Consolidation is precisely how that gap gets bridged, and it is what we do.

What We Do From the U.S.

We are a U.S. exporter. We do not operate warehouses or distribution in Morocco — that is what our distributor partners do. Our job is everything on the American side of the shipment:

• Sourcing from more than 300 U.S. manufacturers, to your specification
• Consolidating mixed loads into full containers, so you are not forced into single-supplier minimums
• Dry, chilled and frozen storage in our 64,000 sq. ft. SQF-certified facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia
• Arabic labelling, stickering and ink-jet date coding applied before goods leave the U.S.
• Export documentation — USDA and health certificates, halal certification where required, certificates of origin
• Ocean and air freight on contracted U.S. lanes, with expedited air for urgent replenishment

Import Requirements We Prepare For

ONSSA — the Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires — is the food safety authority, operating through regional divisions. Sanitary certificates are required, and analysis by an official Moroccan laboratory may be requested at clearance, particularly for products new to the market.

Product information must be in Arabic, with limited exemptions. A non-GMO attestation is required if the label carries any GMO reference.

On halal: IMANOR is the custodian of the Morocco Halal label, certifying against standard NM 08.0.800. We should be straight about the limits of what we can confirm — the certification side letter accompanying the FTA for U.S. beef and poultry covers inspection and residues and does not address halal, and we have not found a primary U.S. or Moroccan government source establishing third-party halal certification as a hard import mandate rather than a commercial expectation. We arrange halal certification where your programme calls for it and confirm the current requirement with your clearing agent per shipment.

Casablanca and Tanger Med are the primary entry ports; Tanger Med is Africa’s largest container port at 11.1 million TEU in 2025.

What We Look For in a Distributor Partner

We are deliberately selective, because these relationships tend to last decades rather than seasons. We are typically looking for:

• An established importer of record, with the licences and clearance experience the market requires
• Real coverage of at least one channel — modern retail, wholesale, foodservice distribution, or franchise supply
• Temperature-controlled storage and distribution appropriate to the categories you want to carry
• A sales team that can place and support a new brand rather than simply warehousing it
• An interest in a long-term programme, including exclusive lines where it makes sense for both sides

If that is a reasonable description of your business, we would like to talk.

See all markets we serve →

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a warehouse or office in Morocco?

No. Chihade International is a U.S. exporter based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and we ship from there. We do not hold stock inside Morocco. Local importing, clearance, storage and distribution are handled by our distributor partners — which is precisely the role we are looking to fill.

Do we have to order a full container of a single product?

No. Consolidation is one of the main reasons distributors work with us. We combine products from multiple U.S. manufacturers into one container, so you can carry a broad range without committing to full-truckload minimums from each supplier.

Can we get exclusive rights to a brand in our market?

In many cases, yes. Chihade International is the exclusive distributor of Country Sun, our own brand of American cheeses, mayonnaise, frying oils, cheese sauce and breakfast meats. Where it makes commercial sense on both sides, we grant exclusive Country Sun distribution rights by territory — a line your competitors cannot stock. See the range at countrysunfoods.com.

Does the U.S.–Morocco FTA make our shipments duty free?

For most U.S. goods, yes — the agreement has been in force since 2006. Some sensitive agricultural lines are still phasing out and tariff-rate quotas apply to high-quality beef, poultry leg quarters and durum wheat. We confirm the position for your specific product codes and prepare the origin documentation.

We only want to start with a small trial order. Is that workable?

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons to work with us here. USDA specifically flags the mismatch between Moroccan buyers wanting small test quantities and U.S. suppliers wanting full loads. We consolidate across multiple manufacturers into one container, so a trial assortment is practical.

Is halal certification required?

IMANOR is the custodian of the Morocco Halal label. We have not been able to confirm from a primary government source whether third-party certification is a strict legal import condition or a commercial expectation, so we arrange it where your programme requires it and verify the current position per shipment rather than assuming.

How We Work With Partners in Morocco

Whichever channel you operate in, the U.S. side of the shipment is the same: sourcing, consolidation, preparation and documentation from our SQF-certified facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

• Franchise export — supplying U.S. franchise brands at their locations in Morocco.
• Distributor partnerships — for importers and foodservice distributors carrying American lines.
• Retail and supermarket consolidation — an American grocery range without single-supplier minimums.
• Export warehousing and 3PL — dry, chilled and frozen under one roof in Georgia.
• All export services — the full picture of what we handle before a container sails.
• Beef and protein export — U.S. beef, poultry and seafood, including halal programmes, with plant eligibility confirmed for each market.

Useful reading: Halal certification: what actually matters  ·  Export documentation, in plain English  ·  How to become a distributor partner  · How franchise export works ·  all export guides

Become Our Distributor Partner in Morocco

Tell us about your market coverage and the products you are looking for, and we will be in touch about a distribution program.