Foreign Direct Investments to Morocco Rise by Nearly 20%

Rabat – The flow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into Morocco rose by 19.8% over the first two months of 2023, according to data from the country’s foreign trade watchdog, Office d’Echange (OE).

In a monthly publication, OE data shows that Foreign Direct Investments in Morocco reached MAD 5 billion ($493 million) at the end of February, up from MAD 4 billion ($ 394 million) a year earlier.

Despite the notable post-pandemic recovery, the flow of FDIs remains below pre-pandemic levels. The volume of FDI in the first two months of 2019 settled at MAD 6 billion ($592 million), OE data indicate.

The COVID-induced economic recession caused FDIs to slide for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021 to reach a three-year low of MAD 3.9 billion ($384 million).

In its monthly publication, OE detailed the positive development in the country’s foreign trade.

Much like the flow of FDIs, Morocco’s trade deficit – the monetary difference between the country’s imports and exports – is showing strong signs of recovery, rising at an annual rate of 17.8% at the end of February. The monetary value of Morocco’s trade deficit reached MAD 44.9 billion ($4.4 billion).

The country’s trade deficit is growing at a much slower rate in 2023 amid the drop in food imports following the recovery of agriculture production.

In 2022, the sub-optimal agriculture campaign coupled with skyrocketing energy prices caused Morocco’s trade deficit to reach its height level in over a decade. Over the first eight months of 2022 in particular, Morocco’s trade deficit soared by 56%.