Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Surge 3.9% Despite Global Pandemic

The exact amount of these transfers is 61.9 billion dirhams, or 2.3 billion more than the same period in 2019, according to the latest foreign exchange statistics from the Office of Exchange. No one expected such an effort from the MREs, especially with the situation the whole world is going through, which has forced many business leaders to bankruptcy or to close the doors of their companies, pending a hypothetical resumption of activity.

The office points out that the increase recorded in the field of remittances made by the Moroccan diaspora is a boon for the foreign exchange reserves of the Kingdom, since, at the same time, two other foreign exchange resources are in sharp decline, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. There is the net flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which, as of the end of November 2020, recorded 13.8 billion dirhams compared to 17.3 billion dirhams a year earlier.

As for "travel receipts", the decline is even more significant. As of the end of November, they reached 30.8 billion dirhams, compared to 72.9 billion dirhams a year earlier, a drop of 57.7%, which represents a difference of more than 42 billion dirhams.

According to Bank Al-Maghrib’s projections, MRE transfers will increase by 6.3% in 2021 and 2% in 2022.