Rabat – The Moroccan High Commission of Planning (HCP) has declared that the import unit values index fell by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.
The downward trend results mainly from the decline of the import of semi-products by 4.8%, energy and lubricants by 6.3%, food, drinks, and tobacco by 1.6%, and raw mineral products by 44.6%.
However, an augmentation has covered some materials, mitigating the global import index. This includes industrial equipment products, by 5.5%, finished consumption products by 2.4%, and finished agricultural equipment by 2.0%.
For the export unit values index, HCP reports a decline of 3.7% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
The decline is a repercussion of the decrease in the export of semi products by 15.5%, raw mineral products by 9.5%, consumption products by 0.4%, and finished industrial products by 0.2%.
On the other hand, this decline was factored in an increase in “food, drinks, and tobacco” by 0.7%, and animal and vegetable products by 5.7%.
The first quarter of 2020 was marked by the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on the world and Morocco’s economy.
However, the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Trade revealed on June 26 that the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had recorded an increase in the last five years, with an average of 6.3% annually.
The five-year growth has mainly benefited the industrial sector in Morocco with 26.5% of the FDI’s receipt.
A similar growth, reflecting commitment despite the COVID-19 crisis, has concerned the Moroccan ports’ activity. This saw an imports and exports volume of 31.1 million tons during the first four months of 2020, according to the National Port Agency (ANP).
Moroccan imports amounted to 20 million tons, marking an increase of 5.2%, while exports amounted to 11.1 million tons, marking an increase of 7.4%, all compared to the same period in 2019.
