According to forecasts by Bank Al-Maghrib, at the end of its board meeting, the pace of export growth should slow from 29.4% in 2022 to 3% this year, and to 0.6% the year. next.
This slowdown, according to the Central Bank, is due to the anticipation of a drop in exports of phosphates and its derivatives during the year 2023, after an exceptional year 2022 due to the increase in the international prices of raw materials. raw.
Indeed, in 2022 Morocco’s phosphate exports amounted to 115.4 billion dirhams, compared to 80 billion dirhams in 2021. The figure reached last year represents 27% of the Kingdom’s total exports, which amounted to 426 billion dirhams.
This is explained by the significant increase in fertilizer prices in 2022, which rose from 4,775 dirhams per ton in 2021 to nearly 8,326 dirhams per ton at the end of the past year.
According to figures from Bank Al-Maghrib, quoted by Hespress FR, the strong dynamism of trade last year also caused a record increase in the trade balance deficit, which reached 311.6 billion dirhams. Remittances from Moroccans abroad amounted to 109.2 billion dirhams and tourist receipts amounted to 91.3 billion dirhams, limiting the deficit to 3.9% of gross domestic product.
