Tourism and diaspora bring in more, but Morocco’s energy bill rises by 23.7 billion dirhams

This is the comparison highlighted on Monday, October 5, by EnterpriseAM. The business news outlet notes that Morocco’s main sources of foreign currency are growing, but import spending is rising even faster, particularly for energy.

On Bladi.net : Even the Billions Sent by Moroccans Abroad No Longer Cover Morocco’s Energy Bill

From January to August, tourism revenue reached 97.9 billion dirhams, up 9.7%. Transfers from Moroccans residing abroad rose 9%, to 89.2 billion. Compared with the first eight months of 2025, tourism thus generated an additional 8.7 billion dirhams, while MREs contributed 7.4 billion more.

Together, these two sources brought in 187.1 billion dirhams. Tourism has also maintained its lead over diaspora transfers: in the first half of the year, the gap had already reached 3.4 billion dirhams. By the end of August, it had exceeded 8.7 billion.

Energy adds 23.7 billion dirhams to spending

But purchases of energy and lubricants surged 32.6%, from 72.7 billion to 96.4 billion dirhams. Their increase therefore exceeds the additional revenue from tourism and MREs combined by some 7.6 billion, according to data from the Foreign Exchange Office.

Diesel and fuel oil account for two-thirds of this increase. Their bill reached 50.7 billion dirhams, up from 35 billion a year earlier. They alone added 15.7 billion to import spending, almost as much as the combined gains from tourism and diaspora transfers.

Industry is also bringing in more foreign currency. Automotive exports rose 14.5%, to 116.1 billion dirhams, while aerospace exports gained 21.5%, reaching nearly 23 billion. These results contributed to an 8.7% increase in Moroccan sales abroad.

On Bladi.net : Morocco’s imports are rising nearly twice as fast as its exports

By contrast, imports rose 15.8%. Alongside energy, equipment weighed heavily: purchases of machinery, utility vehicles and aerospace equipment added 24.1 billion dirhams to the import bill.

The merchandise trade deficit thus reached 282.6 billion dirhams, up 25.4%. Exports now cover 54.2% of imports, compared with 57.7% at the end of August 2025.