Morocco’s Trade Slumps: Exports and Imports Down 17% Amid Global Slowdown

3 September 2020 – byJérôme · 1 min read

For the first seven months of 2020, both Moroccan imports and exports of goods recorded year-on-year declines of 17.5% and 17% respectively compared to the same period last year.

According to statistics published by the Office des Changes, the drop in imports of goods is explained by the decline in imports of almost all product groups, including finished consumer goods (-24%), energy products (-31%), and capital goods (-18%). On the other hand, food purchases increased by 23%, driven by wheat imports (+44%) due to the poor cereal harvest this year.

Automotive exports totaled 32.75 billion dirhams, down 28.7%, or more than 13 billion dirhams. The share of this sector in total exports is now 23.4% instead of 27.2% a year earlier. In the aeronautics industry, exports at the end of July 2017 amounted to 7.63 billion dirhams, down 21.2%.

Foreign sales of the textile and leather sector decreased by 29.5% to 15.9 billion dirhams. At the level of phosphates and derivatives, exports are down 4.2%, i.e. 28.8 billion dirhams, mainly due to the drop in world phosphate prices.

Foreign exchange flows are also impacted. Remittances from Moroccans living abroad (MRE) recorded a 3.2% decline to 36.14 billion dirhams, while net foreign direct investment (FDI) flows contracted by 21.5% over the same period, limited to 9 billion dirhams.