Morocco Poised to Benefit from Plummeting Oil Prices, Expert Says

In a statement to MAP, Mariam Cherqaoui firmly believes that the consequences of the drop in oil for the Moroccan economy can only be favorable in the sense that Morocco imports nearly 80% of its energy needs. According to her, the kingdom could take advantage of this to reduce the impact of imports on public finances and foreign exchange needs on the one hand, and to lighten the energy bill for households and businesses, on the other hand.

It will be up to Morocco to encourage, during this period, investments in the processing industries to allow the national industry to benefit from this trend, but also to boost the mechanisms that allow it to build up its own reserves by exploring the possibility of new supply channels, she recommended.

According to the expert in economics, finance and entrepreneurship, the drastic drop in oil prices is due to the significant drop in global demand for this product due to the covid-19 crisis, leading to the freezing of a good part of production and transport activities following the containment measures implemented in several countries.

Similarly, this situation is explained by abundant supply from major traditional global producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, in fierce competition to maintain their market shares in a context of uncertainty, but also by the accentuation of US supply in shale oil, she added.