Rabat – After breaking records in 2021 and 2022, the monetary value of Morocco’s phosphate exports dropped by 25% year-on-year in the first two months of 2023, according to data from Morocco’s foreign trade watchdog Office d’Echange (OE).
In a monthly update, OE data shows that phosphate exports in the first two months of 2023 settled at MAD 10.9 billion ($1 billion), down from MAD 14.6 billion ($1.4 billion) the previous year.
The drop in the monetary value coincides with the overall easing of prices on the international market. Converging data shows that fertilizer prices are sliding by an average of 10% to 12% on a monthly basis in 2023.
In 2022, Morocco’s phosphate export hit record highs, growing by 43% and reaching MAD 115.5 billion ($11 billion) in value despite a decrease in the overall volume of exports. The rise in the value of fertilizer exports was primarily supported by the exponential growth in the prices on the international market.
Echoing the rise in the value of exports, Morocco’s OCP Group, the company that manages the country’s phosphate reserves, announced a turnover of MAD 25 billion ($2.4 billion) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, down from MAD 26 billion ($2.5 billion) a year earlier.
In a statement, the company said that the drop in its quarterly profits was caused by “unfavorable market conditions” that were marked by declining prices and regressing demand.
Fertilizers saw a dramatic rise in value in 2022 on the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, and the ensuing sanctions that caused a shortage of Russian ammonia, a key ingredient in the manufacturing of fertilizers.
State-level protectionism measures around the world exacerbated the trend, and caused a severe shortage of fertilizers on the global market.
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