Morocco’s exports hit record high despite covid-19 adverse effects

Morocco’s exports have outperformed the years preceding the pandemic as the kingdom positions itself as the economic engine of the African continent and of the world.

Data from the Exchange Office revealed that revenues of exports from the North African country reached MAD327 billion ($34 billion) in 2021, accounting for an increase of 23.4 per cent up from last year figures and 14.9 per cent from 2019 data.

The good performance of 2020 and 2021 exports have beaten the odds of the pandemic that affected the global economy.

Phosphate and its byproduct dominate exports with an increase by 57.1 per cent. Aeronautics sector has returned to positive level with export growth put at 21.9 per cent.

The automobile industry has also witnessed a significant growth 15.9 per cent to reach MAD83.78 billion in 2021 owing to foreign demands.

According to Amine Laghidi, an international consultant and President of Moroccan exporters (ASMEX) of Rabat Central Region, the increase in exports heralds a positive future in which the kingdom expects to be sovereign in all sectors.

In the medical sector, as an instance, Morocco, now a destination for medical tourism, intends to bolster its position in the sector. For Laghidi, the kingdom’s plans to produce locally covid-19 vaccine and other vaccines for export across the African continent, is a good move to spur the vision.

“The confidence that the Moroccan health sector now enjoys and its good reputation on an international scale are a boon for any private investor in the sector,” he added in an interview with the state-run press agency MAP.

Actually, the country’s health sector benefiting from recent reforms has emerged as an attractive market for international investors.

Besides the health industry, Moroccan authorities are keen to end importation of energy, the vision being focused on natural gas and green energy.

Talking about energy, Laghidi argues that the kingdom boasts a lot of opportunities ranging from increasing the export of green electricity to Europe, a niche attractive to foreign investors, and the export of electricity to Africa in the short term, especially since the connection of Dakhla to the national grid, through an energy highway of several thousand miles of cable.

The recent discoveries of gas fields in the east and west of the country have increased the opportunities.

Once the reserves have been evaluated and production has begun, this should provide Morocco with a new source of gas exports, firstly by pipeline, but also in liquid gas once the capacity is installed, the ASMEX official said.

For Laghidi, Morocco also possesses key levers notably the “enormous” export potential of the 12 regions. Currently, 4 regions account for 80% of national exports. Investment in distribution chains abroad would make it possible to do in a few months what would otherwise take years, namely the diversification of export destinations and export products.

He also called for the improvement of the added value of exports, which is considered an obligation to strengthen the existing capitalization and encourage domestic and foreign investment through the implementation of a synchronized strategy.