Rabat – In the heart of the city of Salé, a few kilometers from the Moroccan capital Rabat, the young Mohamed Al -Baqali is actively working in his workshop specialized in traditional leather industries.
Between the tools of crafts and the smell of natural skin, Muhammad is busy putting the finishing touches on a website through which he will display his traditional products directed to foreign markets, in an attempt to link the ancient past to modern digital marketing prospects.
Mohamed Al -Baqali joined a vocational training center in Rabat, then moved between training workshops in Salé and Fez, the spiritual capital of the traditional industry, and expanded his horizons by training in other areas that complement such as e -commerce, photography and marketing.
A vital economic sector
The traditional industry is one of the vital economic pillars in Morocco, as it occupies about 2.7 million traditional makers, which represents 22% of the active forces, and the sector contributes 7% in the GDP, and in 2024 achieved transactions exceeding 140 billion dirhams (about 15 billion dollars).
Tourism has a direct impact on the sector, as the purchases of traditional industry products by tourists amounted to 10 billion dirhams (one billion dollars), while traditional industry exports amounted to 1.11 billion dirhams (120 million dollars) in 2024, an increase of 3% compared to 2023.
Pottery and stone tops the export list by 36%, followed by Al -Zarabi by 20%, and the United States comes at the head of the imported countries by 44%, followed by France by 14%, then Spain with 6%.
According to the data of the Moroccan Ministry of Traditional Industry, the sector is available on a wide network of infrastructure for the production and marketing of traditional industry products that cover all sides, and the number is more than 140 existing units and another 50 under completion distributed among the traditional industry complexes, shows and sale spaces, villages, vehicles and traditional activities areas, in addition to more than 100 houses of manufacturer in the rural world, as well as programs to rehabilitate old cities.
Economist Mohamed Shulri, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, says that the Moroccan traditional industry possesses huge potentials that have not yet been exploited adequately, despite being the second largest operator in Morocco after the agricultural sector.
Shlry notes that the sector is achieving an important internal transactions number, but it “still records modest numbers at the level of export”, due to the dependence on limited traditional markets such as France, Spain and Italy, which requires – according to his saying – openness to new markets that include Asia, Eastern Europe and the African continent.
Challenges
Despite the dynamism of the sector and institutional support, traditional makers are still facing structural challenges, most notably the weak marketing and the dominance of intermediaries who take advantage of the weak professional organization.
In this context, parliamentarian Naima Al -Fathawi says that traditional makers are exploited by some mediators and merchants from whom products buy products at a low price to resell them with double profits.
She assured Al -Jazeera Net that the Moroccan traditional industry is in addition to being one of the pillars of the national economy, as it represents a cultural heritage that reflects the creativity of successive generations, and it constitutes an essential element in attracting tourists and introducing the diverse identity of Morocco.
Despite the efforts made in establishing training centers and supporting cooperatives, the deputy confirms that traditional makers are still facing difficulties related to adapting to the requirements of the modern market, and the absence of effective mechanisms to promote.
Al -Fathawi stressed the need to organize the sector in a way that guarantees the social and economic rights of workers and workers, especially since 90% of the transactions number is carried out by individuals and not companies, which imposes the need for appropriate legislation and a fair structure for the sector.
She called for supporting the participation of this category in national and international exhibitions, with importance to the cultural aspect of the product. In her view, the tourist searches for a product that reflects the identity and culture of the country, not just a commercial commodity.
The spokeswoman pointed out that Morocco has more than 120 traditional crafts, which makes the Kingdom among the first countries that are characterized by its traditional industry, but it considers that problems related to organization and marketing prevent Moroccan exports to raise these products from these products, bring hard currency and increase the sector’s contribution to the raw internal product.
Among the most prominent challenges that disrupt external expansion, Mohamed Shulhiri adds, “The limited logistical capabilities, especially for the small cooperatives present in remote areas such as Talwin or Khenifra, as it is difficult for it to bear the costs of transportation and export on its own, which weakens the competitiveness of its products in the global markets.”
He believes that the digital transformation today represents an urgent priority, calling for the digitization of the activity of cooperatives and enabling them to create electronic stores that allow them to sell their products directly to consumers around the world, while taking advantage of the available digital performance means.
He stressed that this sector is able to create wealth and provide job opportunities for young people, the condition of investing in it properly, warning that “the continuation of the situation as it is may lead to the disappearance of some traditional crafts and the loss of cultural and economic heritage conveyed by successive generations through time.”
Marketing support
In support of the transformation of the sector digitally, the Ministry of State in charge of the traditional industry and the social and solidarity economy signed last Wednesday a memorandum of understanding with the Dar Al -Sanea Foundation, the People’s Bank Group and MasterCard to establish a digital platform for marketing traditional industry products at the national and international levels.
This partnership aims, according to an official statement, to develop financing offers that are in line with the needs of traditional makers and provide digital performance solutions such as payment via cards or via mobile phone, in addition to their accompanying in order to enhance their digital transformation.
On the same day, another partnership agreement was signed to digitize the mechanisms of exporting the sector’s products, which includes granting the inspection certificate for exporting products for the traditional industry, social and solidarity economy, and the restriction of the traditional industry exporters record, in a move that enhances the competitiveness of traditional makers, integrate them into the structured economy, and accelerating the access of exporters to international markets.
The writer of the state, Hassan Al -Saadi, stressed in a statement that the agreement “will put another brick in the system of cooperative and contracting exports in order to integrate it into the national system of foreign trade.”
