Algeria, Morocco’s First Trading Partner in Africa

Algeria is Morocco’s first customer and supplier in Africa, despite the stalemate in political and diplomatic ties between the Maghreb’s two populous countries, which remain at loggerheads concerning a range of regional issues.

A study issued by the OCP Policy Center, a policy oriented think tank based in Rabat, surprisingly showed that Algeria is Morocco’s first trading partner in Africa in the last decade, which witnessed a substantial increase in the Kingdom’s investments in the continent.

In 2014, 40.4% of Morocco’s exports to Africa went to Algeria, followed by Mauritania with 18.2%. Senegal came third (14.5%) and Côte d’Ivoire 4th (13.9%).

Algeria is also Morocco’s first African supplier ensuring 63.1% of Morocco’s African imports followed by Egypt with 26% and Tunisia (9.8%).

Morocco’s trade with Africa jumped from one billion dollars in 2004 to 4.4 billion dollars in 2014. More remains to be done to further boost trade with the continent, which only represents 6.5% of Morocco’s foreign trade.

Morocco’s exports to Africa include notably agri-food products, fertilizers, and cars while its imports are dominated by hydrocarbons.