Trade Deficit Widens by 6.5% in November

The Foreign Exchange Office reported a 6.5% increase in the trade deficit, reaching MAD 275.74 billion by the end of November, compared to MAD 258.83 billion the previous year.

In its latest monthly bulletin on foreign trade indicators, the office explained that this development reflects a rise in goods imports (+5.7% to MAD 689.16 billion) and exports (+5.2% to MAD 413.41 billion), with the coverage rate remaining steady at 60%.

The growth in imports is attributed to increased purchases of manufactured equipment products (+12.1% to MAD 162.73 billion), manufactured consumer goods (+8.8% to MAD 159.55 billion), semi-finished products (+7.9% to MAD 149.05 billion), and food products (+1.8% to MAD 82.60 billion), coupled with a decline in energy product imports (-5.9% to MAD 104.38 billion).

On the export side, the Foreign Exchange Office highlighted significant growth in the aviation sector (+16.9% to MAD 24.21 billion), followed by phosphates and derivatives (+9.1% to MAD 75.23 billion), the automotive sector (+6.7% to MAD 145.93 billion), agriculture and food industries (+3.1% to MAD 77.91 billion), and electronics and electrical industries (+2.5% to MAD 16.61 billion).