Reuters
by Aziz El Yaakoubi
Morocco’s trade deficit rose 7.7 percent to 67.43 billion dirhams ($6.97 billion) in the first five months of 2016 compared with the same period a year ago due to higher imports, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.
Equipment imports rose 19.8 percent to 43.9 billion dirhams, while auto imports were 49.4 percent higher at 5.95 billion dirhams, the data showed.
Wheat imports also jumped as bad weather hurt the local harvest this year, 16.8 percent up from a year earlier to 7.1 billion dirhams at the end of May.
The North African kingdom’s energy import bill fell 31.2 percent to 19.9 billion dirhams compared with a year earlier. Morocco is the biggest energy importer in the region.
Total exports rose 2 percent from a year earlier to 95.92 billion dirhams, led by a 15 percent rise in auto exports. Phosphate sales fell 11.2 percent to 16.10 billion dirhams.
Tourism receipts rose by 6.4 percent, while remittances from the 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad were 4.1 percent up to 24.33 billion dirhams. Foreign direct investment fell 9.1 percent to 13.68 billion dirhams.
Figures are in billions of dirhams:
Jan-May Jan-May Jan-Apr
2016 2015 2016
EXPORTS 95.92 94.02 76.87
IMPORTS 163.34 156.60 129.38
BALANCE -67.42 -62.58 -52.51
MIGRANT REMITTANCES 24.33 23.37 19.41
TOURISM RECEIPTS 21.53 20.23 16.86
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 13.68 15.05 10.29
($1 = 9.6682 Moroccan dirham)
(Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
