Morocco’s trade deficit stood at 104.11 billion dirhams (MMDH) at the end of November 2022, up 56.9% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the Foreign Exchange Office.
Imports increased by 42.3% to more than 676.81 billion dirhams and exports improved by 33.1% to 389.76 billion dirhams, specifies the Office which has just published its monthly indicators of foreign trade for the month of November, noting that the coverage rate lost 3.9 points to 57.6%.
The increase in imports of goods follows the increase in purchases of all product groups, notes the Office, specifying that the energy bill has more than doubled to 141.55 billion dirhams at the end of November 2022.
Regarding imports of semi-finished products, these increased by 49.1%, following the strong growth in purchases of ammonia (19.29 billion dirhams against 6.30 billion dirhams).
Imports of food products, for their part, posted an increase of 48.8%, the result of the increase in wheat supplies which almost doubled under the price effect, which rose by 44.5%. At the same time, the quantities imported increased by 35.6%.
Imports of raw products increased by 54.1%. This development follows the increase in purchases of crude and unrefined sulphur.
With regard to exports of goods, their increase concerns the majority of sectors, namely phosphates and derivatives, Automotive, Agriculture and agro-food, Textiles and leather.