MOROCCO – Germany-based provider of reusable packaging containers IFCO, has opened its first service hub in Casablanca, Morocco to support retail partners in importing fresh products from the North African country.

With this expansion, IFCO takes the lead in supporting its retail partners by enabling environmentally friendly imports of fresh produce from Morocco.

“We are delighted to expand our operations to Morocco, a source of fresh produce of growing importance to our retail partners.

“In addition to the general benefits of IFCO RPCs—like reduced CO2 emissions and food waste— ­­­we are now providing retailers and growers operating in Morocco with more sustainable packaging solutions and facilitating the procedures related to import and export procedures.

“Expanding our network of service centers to Northern Africa demonstrates our commitment to making the fresh-grocery supply chain more environmentally friendly and supporting our customers where needed,” said Michael Pooley, Chief Executive Officer at IFCO Systems.

While fresh produce from other European countries remains of immense importance to retailers, imports from Morocco are an increasingly important source of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The advantageous climate conditions in the country offer European distributors the opportunity to source fresh produce all year, enabling Morocco’s agricultural sector to continue growing.

Although both end users and retailers are demanding more environmentally friendly packaging solutions, most Moroccan produce is still imported in single-use packaging.

Retailers have long faced administrative obstacles to importing fresh produce from Morocco in reusable packaging, as no pooler has been represented in the country.

Now, IFCO is the first and only pooler to open a legal entity in Morocco, making it easier for its European retail partners to manage RPCs.

Dedicated to a more sustainable fresh grocery supply chain, IFCO also offers local support by lowering the administrative burden associated with RPC management.

This enables a more sustainable supply chain from growers in Morocco to the point of sale in European countries.

IFCO has been engaging with local authorities to streamline procedures for its customers reducing the administrative burdens associated with the import and export of IFCO RPCs and enabling local producers to serve their European clients.

The world’s leading provider of RPCs for fresh grocery products has been highly ranked in ESG and circular economy ratings from Sustainalytics and Circulytics, two prestigious assessments that independently verify sustainability and circular economy commitments and progress.

IFCO received an overall Sustainalytics ESG low-risk rating with a score of 11.2. This score positions IFCO in the top 16% of all global companies rated by Morningstar’s Sustainalytics, a leading ESG rating platform.

It got an A- score from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s circularity assessment tool, Circulytics.

The scores confirm the effectiveness of its ESG strategy, and commitment to doing business responsibly, and demonstrate those values are at the heart of the company’s reduce, reuse, and recycle business model.

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