Reuters
By Aziz El Yaakoubi
Morocco’s trade deficit rose 5.5 percent to 37.28 billion dirhams ($3.88 billion) in the first three months of 2016 compared with a year earlier, due to higher equipment and wheat imports, the foreign exchange regulator said on Wednesday.
The gap was up from 35.35 billion dirhams at the end of March 2015, as equipment imports rose 16.3 percent to 25 billion dirhams, data showed. Wheat imports jumped 10.6 percent from a year earlier to 3.48 billion dirhams as harsh weather hit the local harvest this year.
The North African kingdom has been taking advantage of lower energy prices, with energy imports falling 31.5 percent to 11.18 billion dirhams compared with a year earlier. Morocco is the biggest energy importer in the region.
Total exports rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier to 56.34 billion dirhams, led by an 10 percent rise in auto exports. Phosphate sales fell 4.9 percent to 9.2 billion dirhams.
Tourism receipts rose by 6.5 percent, while remittances from the 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad were 6.5 percent up to 14.46 billion dirhams. Foreign direct investment fell 1.1 percent to 8.2 billion dirhams.
Figures are in billions of dirhams:
Jan-Mar Jan-Mar Jan-Fev
2016 2015 2016
EXPORTS 56.34 55.13 36.29
IMPORTS 93.62 90.48 57.45
BALANCE -37.28 -35.35 -21.16
MIGRANT
REMITTANCES 14.46 13.92 9.39
TOURISM
RECEIPTS 12.08 11.35 7.47
FOREIGN DIRECT
INVESTMENT 8.20 8.29 5.36
($1 = 9.6070 Moroccan dirham)
(Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Jon Boyle)
