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Rabat – For the third consecutive year, the automotive industry is Morocco’s leading export sector. According to the latest study on monthly foreign exchange indicators of the Foreign Exchange Office (FEO), this dynamic is due to the increase in sales of the “construction” segment.
The study has revealed that 316,712 cars were exported in 2016, compared to 258,742 at the end of December 2015. The shares of the sector in total exports reached 24.4%, compared with 22.4% a year earlier and 20% in 2014.
In 2016, exports rose by 2.5%, an increase of MAD 5.4 billion, following an increased rate of +8.6% in 2015. That year’s figures were MAD 223.4 billion, compared with 2014’s MAD 218 billion a year. This is despite the decline in sales of Phosphates and derivatives of 10.8%, MAD -4.8 Billion.
The Foreign Exchange Office explains this increase with improved sales in all sectors, led by the automotive sector with a growth of exports estimated at 11,9%, or MAD 5.8 billion.
The agriculture and agri-food sector comes second in the Foreign Exchange Office study, with a growth of 5.1% (MAD 2.3 Billion). This is thought to be due to the increase in shipments of food products by 5.7% (MAD +1.4 Billion) and in fisheries and aquaculture by 24.2% (MAD 0.9 Billion)
As for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Morocco, the FEO’s numbers don’t look as good. FDI’s revenue amounted to MAD 33.1 Billion, in comparison to MAD 39.9 Billion in 2015, marking a decrease of -17.2%.
Expenses, on the other hand, increased to MAD 10.2 billion instead of MAD 8.1 billion in 2015. At the end of December 2016, repayments of related loans and advances to associates’ current accounts accounted for 46.9% of the sales of foreign direct investment in Morocco.
The flow of FDI, therefore, decreased to MAD 22.8 billion compared to MAD 31.8 billion at the end of December 2015. This, concludes the Exchange Office, marks a decline of -28.2%.
