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Rabat – The National Ports Agency (ANP) recorded a decrease of 5.7% in Morocco’s exports, with a volume of 339,926 twenty-foot equivalents during the first eight months of 2020.
The ANP’s recent notice on ports activities said that empty export containers recorded a volume of 214,507 twenty-foot equivalent, representing 63.1% of the overall container export traffic.
Meanwhile, imports reached 334,116 twenty foot equivalents. The number represents a decrease of 8% compared to the first eight months of 2019.
The ANP reported that cabotage also witnessed a decrease of 3.2%, reaching 131,693 twenty foot equivalent.
Regarding cereals activities, the ANP said that their imports reached 6.7 million tonnes. The number shows a “strong increase of 51.1% during the first eight months in 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier.
Morocco acknowledged that the COVID-19 crisis impacted most of its sectors. Lack of rainfall in last season also negatively impacted Morocco’s harvesting period.
The country’s final production of the three main cereals in the 2019-2020 season is estimated at 32 quintals in Morocco.
The number represents a decrease of 39% compared to the previous season.
Read Also: Spain’s Fruit, Vegetable Imports From Morocco Reach €548 Million
Recently, Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture announced the establishment of a cop rotation program on an area of 5.8 million hectares for the upcoming agricultural campaign.
Exports, imports, and cereal production were not the only activities to suffer from the COVID-19 crisis. ANP said that the global traffic of hydrocarbons reached 6.3 tonnes at the end of August. The number marked a decrease of 10.5% compared to the same period last year.
The ANP explained that the number is the result of the decline in activities in several ports, including in Mohammedia (-12.5%), Jorf Lasfar (-9.6%), Nador (-15.1%), Afadir (-2.8%), and Laayoune (-10.7%).
Meanwhile, traffic in phosphates and derivatives rached a volume of approximately 24.2 million tonnes, recording an increase of 12.3%.
The country registered an increase in phosphates activities thanks to the “strong rebound in fertilizer exports (+30.9%), sulfur traffic (+21.1%), and ammonia (+23.3).
For passengers and cruises, the ANP recorded a sharp drop in the sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ANP-managed ports have been suspended for “pleasure, cruise, and passenger shops,” due to the pandemic.
At the end of August 2020, ANP-registered passenger traffic reached 268,799 passengers, a sharp drop of 85% compared to the same period in 2019.
The ports of Tangier and Nador carried out the transit of 97% of global passenger traffic, according to ANP.
