Xifres de comerç exterior de Marroc

Foreign Trade in Figures

Morocco is very open to foreign trade, which represents 87% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). According to the latest figures from the Office des Changes, in terms of products, in 2021 exports were led by natural and chemical fertilizers (15.7%), cars (11.4%), insulated wire, cable and other conductors for electricity (8.7%), clothes (6.9%), and phosphoric acid (6%); whereas hydrocarbons were the main imports (6.8%), followed by vehicle parts (3.7%), cars (3.5%), petroleum gas (3.3%), plastics (3.1%), and wheat  (2.7%).

The country's main trade partners are Spain (21.5%) and France (20.4%), followed by Italy (4.3%) and Germany (4.1%). Spain is also the main supplier (15.7%), ahead of China (11.7%), France (10.5%), the U.S. (6.4%) and Turkey (5.8% - data OdC for 2021). While European countries are the main trading partners (59.4% of total exports, 49% of imports), Morocco has also been strengthening its commercial integration with the rest of Africa, namely through the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.

Morocco has a structurally negative trade balance, which continues to deplete its foreign exchange reserves. In 2021, the overall trade deficit was estimated at 9.1% of GDP by the World Bank (from 7.3% one year earlier). According to WTO data, in 2021 Morocco exported USD 35.8 billion worth of goods, recording an increase of 32.1% year-on-year; whereas the value of its imports stood at USD 58 billion, 32.4% more than the previous year. Morocco is a net exporter of services, with USD 15.4 billion in exports (+16.5% y-o-y) against USD 8.5 billion in imports (+39% y-o-y). The latest figures from the Office des Changes show that in the first eleven months of 2022 trade in goods marked an increase both in imports and exports: the latter rose by 42.3% reaching a value of MAD 676.8 billion; similarly, exports stood at MAD 389.7 billion, with an increase of 33.1% from the same period one year earlier. Thus, the trade deficit increased by 56.9%, mostly due to the fact that the energy bill has more than doubled, reaching MAD 141.5 billion.