São Paulo – The Morocco government released this Friday (15th) a series of data about the country’s foreign transactions in 2015. In trade balance, Morocco posted a deficit of MAD 152.27 billion (USD 15.4 billion), a decline of 18% over the previous year, according to news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP).
According to information from the Foreign Exchange Office of the country’s Ministry of Finance, the coverage rate of imports by exports reached 58.5%, the highest level in ten years.
The deficit decreased due to an increase of 6.7% in exports, which totaled MAD 214.27 billion (USD 21.66 billion), and a decrease of 5.6% in imports, which totaled MAD 366.53 billion (USD 37 billion).
The drop in imports was impacted especially by the decrease of 28% in spending with oil and by-products. Spending with crude oil alone declined 61.3% because of the commodity’s falling prices in the global market. Foreign purchases of food (-14.3%) and consumer goods (-0.9%) also declined.
However, there was an increase in imports of capital goods (8%), semi-finished products (4.8%) and basic goods (4.1%).
In exports, the groups with an increase were phosphates and phosphate products (16.3%), auto industry (20.9%) and agricultural and food sector (10.1%).
Morocco sales to the Brazilian market in 2015 totaled USD 740 million, a decrease of 41% over 2014, according to data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) compiled by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The main products sold were fertilizers.
On the other hand, Brazilian exports to Morocco totaled USD 494 million, a decline of 13% in the same comparison. The main goods shipped to the country were sugar, maize and iron and steel semi-finished products.
Investments
Foreign direct investments (FDI) reached MAD 31.13 billion (USD 3.15 billion), an increase of 4% over 2014.
Remittances from Moroccans living abroad totaled MAD 61.7 billion (USD 6.24 billion), an increase of 3% in the same comparison.
Revenues earned with foreigners that visited Morocco totaled MAD 58.5 billion (USD 5.9 billion), a decline of 1.4% over 2014. Spending by Moroccans travelling abroad, however, increased 14.5% and reached MAD 13.5 billion (USD 1.36 billion).
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
