On Casablanca’s industrial waterfront, a gleaming new complex is changing how a familiar staple ends up in supermarket tins.
The facility, backed by Spanish engineering and Moroccan capital, aims to turn North Atlantic and Mediterranean tuna into a higher-value product without shipping it halfway around the globe first.
Spain-backed tuna giant rises on Morocco’s Atlantic coast
A Spanish engineering firm has just completed what Moroccan officials describe as the country’s largest industrial plant dedicated to tuna processing, located in Casablanca’s busy port area. Built by Galicia-based company Gaictech for Moroccan seafood group Tunamax, the site is already being framed as one of the most significant food-industry investments in Morocco in recent years.
The plant brings together the full tuna-processing chain under one roof. From the arrival of frozen or chilled fish at the dock to sealed cans ready for export, every step runs through a tightly controlled, highly automated system designed in Spain and assembled in Morocco.
This new factory combines Spanish processing technology with Moroccan raw materials to create export-ready tuna for Europe and North America.
The project fits into a broader strategy by Rabat to move away from simply exporting raw or minimally processed seafood and toward keeping more of the value added inside the country’s borders.
Automation, traceability and cleaner production
Gaictech’s design focuses on automation and traceability, two features now non‑negotiable for buyers in the EU and US food markets. Sensors, scanners and digital tracking systems follow each batch of tuna from unloading to final packaging.
The plant’s integrated system speeds up processing, reduces waste and gives buyers a clear record of where, when and how each can of tuna was produced.
According to Moroccan industry sources, the facility includes dedicated lines for:
- Initial reception and weighing of raw tuna
- Controlled-temperature storage before processing
- Cooking and cooling operations
- Cleaning, filleting and trimming
- Automatic can filling and sealing
- Sterilisation in industrial retorts
- Labelling, packing and palletising for export
The level of automation is intended to cut handling time and improve hygiene. Fewer manual steps mean lower contamination risk and a more consistent product. Waste reduction is also a core part of the concept. Offcuts and by-products can be diverted for fishmeal, pet food or other industrial uses instead of being discarded.
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Meeting European and North American standards
The plant is designed with export markets in mind rather than local retail shelves. That means strict alignment with regulations such as the EU’s food hygiene rules, US Food and Drug Administration requirements and traceability laws aimed at combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Digital records can show when the tuna was landed, how long it stayed in cold storage and the exact conditions during cooking and sterilisation. Large supermarket chains increasingly require this type of documentation before signing long‑term supply contracts.
A strategic move in a tuna market dominated by Asia and Europe
Tuna processing is currently dominated by large industrial hubs in countries such as Thailand, Spain and Italy. By creating a high-capacity plant in Casablanca, Morocco is trying to slot itself into this global network as an alternative supplier located closer to European consumers.
The new facility can handle both classic canned tuna in oil or brine and more specialised, higher-margin products. These might include premium fillets, low-salt lines and tuna adapted for ready meals or salads produced by third-party brands.
By expanding beyond bulk commodity canning, the project aims to capture a slice of the higher-value segment traditionally managed in European factories.
Most of the plant’s output is expected to go abroad. Its design capacity targets large, multi-year contracts with supermarket chains and global brands that want diversified sourcing and shorter shipping routes to Europe compared with Asian suppliers.
Keeping more value in Morocco
Until now, a significant share of Morocco’s tuna and other pelagic fish has been exported either frozen or only lightly processed. Additional steps such as cooking, canning and branding often took place in foreign factories, where most of the profit and technology remained.
This new complex changes that equation. By carrying out cooking, cleaning, canning, sterilisation and packaging locally, Morocco captures more of each euro paid by end consumers in Paris, London or New York.
| Stage | Previously | With Casablanca plant |
|---|---|---|
| Fishing and landing | Done in Morocco / nearby waters | Unchanged |
| Primary processing | Sometimes abroad | Mostly in Casablanca |
| Canning and sterilisation | Mainly in foreign plants | Central function of new facility |
| Branding and distribution | Foreign companies capture margin | Shared between Moroccan producers and global partners |
For Morocco, this is not just about tuna. The plant is presented as part of a broader industrialisation push that aims to make the country a food-manufacturing platform capable of meeting tight sanitary and logistical standards for global clients.
Local jobs and industrial spin‑offs
Beyond the canned fish itself, the project is creating business for local engineering, construction and industrial service companies. Moroccan firms were involved in civil works, installation of pipelines and conveyors, and the integration of the factory into port and road networks.
Authorities expect the complex to create several hundred direct jobs, from machine operators and quality-control technicians to logistics staff. Thousands more positions are likely to arise indirectly in areas such as:
- Transport of raw fish and finished products
- Production of cans, cartons and packaging material
- Equipment maintenance and industrial cleaning
- Cold-chain logistics and warehousing
The plant acts as an anchor project, encouraging small and medium-sized businesses to specialise in services tailored to the food-processing sector.
For coastal communities, stable factory jobs can balance the more volatile income from fishing, which is subject to catch fluctuations and seasonal closures.
Spanish engineering looks outward
For Gaictech, the Casablanca project marks a clear step in its international expansion. The company specialises in turnkey equipment for food processing, particularly seafood. In this case it supplied the production lines, assembled the hardware and software and oversaw commissioning.
Spain’s role goes beyond selling machinery. The project showcases a transfer of process know‑how built up in Spanish canning regions, especially in Galicia, and adapted to Moroccan conditions and labour markets.
For Tunamax, the partnership signals a new phase. The group now sits among the bigger industrial players in tuna processing in both Africa and the Mediterranean basin. With this capacity, it can pitch itself as a long-term partner to major global distributors looking to broaden their supply base.
Food safety, sustainability and consumer concerns
Large tuna plants sit at the junction of several hot-button issues: food safety, fishing sustainability and labour standards. While the Casablanca facility focuses on technology and capacity, it will also be judged on how it addresses these concerns.
Traceability systems are not just a bureaucratic requirement. They help verify that fish come from licensed vessels, within quota and from regions not subject to sanctions for illegal fishing. Buyers in Europe and North America are increasingly wary of reputational risk linked to opaque supply chains.
Food-safety protocols, including exact control of sterilisation times and temperatures, reduce the already low risk of problems like botulism in canned foods. When the system works, each can can be traced back quickly if a defect appears in a particular batch.
What “value added” really means in tuna
The term “value added” is often thrown around in trade policy debates, but it has a concrete meaning in the tuna business. A tonne of frozen, unprocessed tuna might sell at a relatively low price. Once that same fish is cooked, cleaned, canned, sterilised, labelled and boxed under a recognised brand, the final value can multiply.
The difference between the raw and final price does not just reflect profit. It also pays for skilled labour, complex machinery, quality control, compliance teams and marketing. By moving these steps to Casablanca, Morocco and its partners aim to keep a larger slice of that value onshore instead of sending semi‑finished products abroad.
For consumers in the UK or US, this kind of facility might not be front of mind when picking up a can of tuna. Yet the shift toward processing closer to fishing grounds can reshape trade routes, price stability and even the mix of products available on supermarket shelves over the next decade.
Originally posted 2026-02-04 01:45:10.