Exports of goods and services increased by 28.9% to 96.96 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023.
Trade : The performance of Moroccan exports for the first two months of the year is driven by all sectors including automotive, electronics, electricity and textiles and leather.
The export sectors posted good momentum in the second month of the year. At the end of February, exports stood at 68.75 billion dirhams in consolidation of 5 billion dirhams, thus marking an increase of 7.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. A performance driven by all sectors including automotive, electronics, electricity and textiles and leather. On the automotive side, export sales recovered by 40.5% to reach 21.66 billion dirhams at the end of February, thus gaining 6.24 billion dirhams over the year. “This development follows the increase in sales of all segments of the sector, namely the construction segment (+44.7% or +2.91 billion dirhams), that of cabling (+43.8% or +2.2 billion dirhams) and that of interior vehicles and seats (+20% or +255 million dirhams)”, can be noted from the monthly foreign exchange bulletin of the Foreign Exchange Office.
The electronics and electricity sector achieved an export figure of around 3.65 billion dirhams at the end of February, thus climbing by 36.4% year-on-year. This increase is driven mainly by the 57.7% increase in sales of electronic components, rising in one year from 887 million dirhams to 1.39 billion dirhams. Exports of wires and cables for their part recovered by 33.9%, reaching 1.37 billion dirhams for the first two months of the year. Textile and leather shipments also rebounded, rising by 15.1% to around 7.36 billion dirhams. Commenting on this development, the Foreign Exchange Office highlights an increase of 18% in exports of ready-made clothing, 20% in those of shoes and 7.6% in those of knitwear.
On the other hand, shipments of phosphates and derivatives were down at the end of February, falling in one year from 14.68 billion dirhams to 10.96 billion dirhams. This decline is explained by the 22.3% decline in sales of natural and chemical fertilizers, 37% in those of phosphoric acid and 17.5% in those of phosphates. It should be recalled that exports of goods and services increased by 28.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. They amount to 96.96 billion dirhams in consolidation of 21.71 billion dirhams. Despite the notable performance of exports, the trade deficit continues to widen. The Foreign Exchange Office notes in this sense an aggravation of 17.8%.
The difference thus stands at 44.91 billion dirhams at the end of February against 38.14 billion dirhams a year earlier. The coverage rate stood at 60.5% against 62.5% a year earlier. It should be noted that imports firmed up by 11.79 billion dirhams, rising to 113.63 billion dirhams. The Foreign Exchange Office notes an increase of 11.6% in this direction. An increase that affects the majority of product groups. The energy bill therefore increased by 29.6%, resulting in additional purchases of 4.73 billion dirhams. “This development is dependent on the increase in supplies of all energy products, in this case those of diesel and fuel oils (+1.66 billion dirhams) due to the increase in prices of 29.2 % (8,940 DH/T at the end of February 2023 against 6,921 DH/T a year earlier)”, explains the Foreign Exchange Office in this sense. And to continue that “the quantities imported fell by 5.1%”.
Purchases of capital goods also rose. These imports increased by 16.7% following in particular the 41.6% increase in purchases of piston engines. In addition, imports of finished consumer products increased by 11.9%, up by 2.41 billion dirhams. At the same time, purchases of raw products fell by 4.7%, losing 289 million dirhams compared to the same period of the previous year. This decrease is the result of the 49.8% decline in purchases of crude and unrefined sulphur. The decline also concerned imports of semi-finished products. They contracted by 3.2%. A drop resulting from the 30.6% reduction in ammonia purchases.
Indicators in a nutshell
Travel balance
Travel receipts reached 16 billion dirhams at the end of February, compared to 3.56 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022, thus exceeding the level reached at the end of February 2020 (12.16 billion dirhams), i.e. the period preceding the closure. borders linked to the Covid-19 pandemic (+31.6%). Travel expenses for their part amounted to 3.62 billion dirhams for the first two months of the year. In this regard, the balance of travel shows a surplus of 12.38 billion dirhams against 1.63 billion dirhams a year earlier.
Transferts MRE
17.29 billion dirhams is the total value of funds transferred by Moroccans around the world for the first two months of the year. These transfers show an increase of 28.6%, thus increasing by 3.84 billion dirhams compared to the same period of the previous year.
IDE
The net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 53.6%, rising from 2.19 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022 to 3.36 billion dirhams at the end of February 2023. This results from an increase 19.8% of revenue. The latter amounted to 5.02 billion dirhams against 4.19 billion dirhams a year earlier when expenditure contracted by 17.2% over the said period.
IDME
For the first two months of 2023, Moroccan direct investment abroad (IDME) stood at around 3.24 billion dirhams, posting a slight decline of 2% or -67 million dirhams compared to the same period of the previous year. At the same time, the disposals of these investments relate to an amount of 2.19 billion dirhams, down 11.6%. Thus, the net flow of IDME shows an increase of 26.8% at the end of February 2023. In value, this increase translates into an increase of 221 million dirhams.