Fez – Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment and Water has indicated that traffic in Moroccan ports exceeded the milestone of 200 million tons in 2023, marking an increase of 7.4%.
Moroccan ports recorded last year a positive development in their overall traffic, the ministry added, detailing that traffic rose from 195 million tons in 2022 to 209.4 million tons in 2023, representing an increase of 7.4%.
Also according to the ministry, domestic traffic recorded a volume of 112.7 million tons (up 2.3%), while transshipment reached a volume of 96.7 million tons, thus marking an increase of 14% compared to 2022.
The distribution of overall port traffic in 2023 was marked by a predominance of transshipment activity with a share of 46.2%, followed by imports with 32.1%, exports with 17.2%, cabotage with 3.8%, and bunkering with 0.8%.
For the transshipment activity, the Tanger Med port complex confirmed its position as a major logistics platform in the Mediterranean basin, thanks to the increase in the volume of container transshipment (92.8 million tons/+13.7 %) and hydrocarbons (3.7 million tons/+17.5%).
Imports stood last year at 67.2 million tons, marking an increase of 1.9% compared to 2022. According to the ministry, this development is mainly due to the variation in traffic imports: cereals (9 .2 million tons/+3.9%), sulfur (6.5 million tons/+3.6%), hydrocarbons (11.9 million tons/-1.2%), and coal (10.5 million tons/-6.2%).
Meanwhile, the volume of exports saw an increase of 3.5% in 2023, recording a volume of 36 million tons. This variation is due to the growth in exports of fertilizers (11 million tons/+20.5%) and clinker (2 million tons/+21.7%) on the one hand, and to the drop in traffic of raw phosphate (4.4 million tons/-18.4%) and sulfuric acid (802 thousand tons/-38.7%), on the other hand.
As for cabotage, trade between Moroccan ports increased by 2.7% compared to 2022, recording a volume of 7.9 million tons in 2023, mainly driven by the increase in cargo traffic.
Hydrocarbon bunkering saw a decrease of -8.2% compared to the year 2022, recording a volume of 1.7 million tons, for the benefit of ships transiting the Strait of Gibraltar. The traffic of new vehicles increased by 16% during the year 2023, recording a volume of 673,630 units, of which 77% were intended for export.
In terms of passenger traffic, Moroccan ports saw 4,785,223 people pass through in 2023 as part of the “Marhaba 2023” operation, marking an increase of 39.1% compared to 2022.
The ports of Nador, Tanger Med, and Tanger-Ville provided transit for more than 98% of overall passenger traffic. Cruise activity has experienced a good recovery with an increase of 91.9% with 192,996 cruise passengers for the year 2023.
In addition, the volume of landings of coastal and artisanal marine fisheries products in 2023 saw a drop of -11% to stand at 1.35 million tons. Maritime traffic in Moroccan ports experienced significant growth in 2023, with the reception of more than 27,900 commercial vessels, marking an increase of 16% compared to 2022.
The ministry’s figures come as Morocco continues to invest in boosting the regional and worldwide standing of its leading ports.
Tanger Med port has worldwide access to almost 180 ports and 70 countries across five continents via its various marine operators.
As the largest seaport in Africa and the Mediterranean coasts to the north and south, the Moroccan port has become the first commercial port of the African continent and an essential crossing point for global commercial ships between Latin America and some of the world’s biggest ports on the Asian coasts.
Read also: Container Port Index: Morocco’s Tanger Med Port Ranks Among Top 4 Ports
