Rabat – Morocco’s trade deficit continues to shrink in 2023, growing at a year-on-year rate of 6.5% at the end of July.
According to a report from the Office d’Echange, for the first seven months of 2023, imports have declined by 2.3%, totaling MAD 419.6 billion ($41.9 billion) compared to MAD 429.3 billion ($42.9 billion) at the end of July 2022.
Meanwhile, exports reached MAD 250 billion ($25 billion), compared to MAD 248 billion ($24.8 billion) a year earlier.
The OE report explains that the drop in the value of imports can be primarily attributed to reduced purchases of energy products, semi-finished items, and raw materials.
Spending on energy products dropped by 20%, totaling MAD 69.3 billion ($6.9 billion) over the first seven months of 2023, compared to MAD 87.7 billion ($8.7 billion) in July 2022.
Imports of semi-finished product imports fell by 13%, triggered by reduced purchases of ammonia, which settled at MAD 4.9 billion ($400 billion) in July, against MAD 12.2 billion ($1.2 billion) a year earlier.
Imports of food products, on the other hand, have dropped by 2.7%, totaling MAD 52.9 billion ($5.2 billion) compared to MAD 54.3 billion ($5.4 billion).
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