Morocco’s trade deficit continues to widen. At the end of February 2023, it stood at nearly 44.92 billion dirhams (MMDH) instead of 38.14 billion dirhams a year earlier.
It therefore accelerated by 17.8% compared to the same period of 2022, according to data recently published by the Foreign Exchange Office which establishes the coverage rate at 60% against 61.5% a year previously.
By way of comparison, the trade deficit had widened by 10.6% at the end of January 2023 to reach 21.77 billion dirhams against 19.69 billion dirhams at the end of January 2022. It should also be remembered that it had widened by 56.5 % (-311.63 billion dirhams against -199.17 billion dirhams) for the year 2022.
To fully understand this new trade deficit, the Foreign Exchange Office notes that for the first two months of 2023, imports increased by 11.6% (+11.80 billion dirhams) to 113.63 billion dirhams against 101.83 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022; while exports amounted to 68.71 billion dirhams against 63.69 billion dirhams a year earlier, recording an increase of 7.9% (+5.02 billion dirhams).
More details concerning the evolution of foreign trade are provided by the Office in a document on the monthly indicators of foreign trade for the month of February.
The document released recently indicates that the increase in imports of goods has affected the majority of product groups.
The energy bill thus increased by 29.6% (+4.74 billion dirhams) due to “the increase in supplies of all energy products, in this case those of diesel and fuel oils ( +1.67 billion dirhams) due to the increase in prices of 29.2% (8,940 dirhams/t at the end of February 2023 against 6,921 dirhams/t a year earlier)”, underlines the Office, however noting a decline of 5.1 % of quantities imported.
Following the growth, among other things, of purchases of piston engines by 41.6%: 2.63 billion dirhams against 1.86 billion dirhams, imports of capital goods for their part rose by 16.7%, we learn.
Imports of finished consumer products increased by 11.9% (+2.42 billion dirhams); while purchases of raw products fell by 4.7%, after the decline in purchases of raw and unrefined sulfur by 49.8%: 1.47 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023 against 2.94 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022.
As for imports of semi-finished products, the data show that they fell by 3.2%, due to the decrease in purchases of ammonia by 30.6% (2.03 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023 against 2. 93 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022).
Still according to the Office, the increase in exports of goods – which stood at 68.72 billion dirhams against 63.70 billion dirhams a year earlier, an increase of 7.9% (+5.02 billion dirhams) – concerned most sectors, essentially the automotive sector, the electronics and electricity sector and the textile and leather sector.
Up 40.5% (+6.24 billion dirhams), sales in the automotive sector amounted to 21.66 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023 against 15.42 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022.
For the Foreign Exchange Office, this increase is explained by the “increase in sales of all segments of the sector, namely the construction segment (+44.7% or +2.92 billion dirhams), that of cabling ( +43.8% or +2.20 billion dirhams) and that of vehicle interiors and seats (+20% or +255 million dirhams).
Over the same period, exports of the electronics and electricity sector jumped by 36.4% or +975 MAD, standing at 3.65 billion MAD at the end of February 2023, mainly due to the increase in sales of electronic components of 57.7 % (1.40 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023 against 887 million dirhams at the end of February 2022) and those of wires and cables (+33.9%: 1.37 billion dirhams for the first two months of the year 2023 against 1.02 billion dirhams a year earlier).
Up 15.1% in the first two months of 2023, sales of textiles and leather increased thanks to the increase in exports of ready-made clothing (+18%), footwear (+20 .6%), and to a lesser extent knitwear (+7.6%).
At the same time, exports of phosphates and derivatives amounted to 10.96 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023 against 14.68 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022, after the decline observed in sales of natural and chemical fertilizers (-22.3% ), those of phosphoric acid (-37.8%) and those of phosphates (-17.5%).
Alain Bouithy