Morocco’s Fuel Sales Plunge 60% as COVID-19 Restrictions Empty Gas Stations

"We are going through a very difficult period. Our turnover (TO), which is in free fall, has already suffered a loss of nearly 60%," regretted Abdessamad, manager of a service station located on Boulevard Mohammed V in Kénitra.

He explained to the MAP that the fuel sector has experienced this crisis since April, as turnover had exploded in March because many Moroccans rushed to the service stations to fill up. They were panicked at the idea of not being able to get any once the country was confined.

Abdelaziz, also a service station manager, is facing the same difficulty: a 50% drop in turnover, an 80% drop in customers. "The school buses, which were refueling almost daily, are our most important customers. But with the closure of schools, these now idle transport services have caused a significant drop in our turnover," he lamented, adding that taxi driver consumption has fallen by up to 70%.

The partial shutdown of a large number of factories in the Kénitra free zone, as well as in the surrounding areas, has had a negative impact on the activity of the station, which has always known a strong enthusiasm from personnel transport, concluded Abdelaziz.