Casablanca –  The Office des Changes reported that remittances of Moroccans living abroad amounted to 27.44 billion dirhams (approximately $2.83 billion USD) at the end of March 2024, compared to 27.55 billion dirhams (approximately $2.84 billion USD) during the same period last year. In its latest bulletin on the monthly indicators of foreign trade, the office explained that these remittances recorded a decrease of 0.4 per cent (minus 106 million dirhams or approximately $10.93 million USD) compared to the first three months of 2023.

The Foreign Exchange Office released the latest foreign trade indicators for March 2024, providing an overview of significant developments across various sectors. These data reveal notable changes, whether positive or declining, especially concerning financial transfers from expatriates, exports in the aviation and automotive sectors, trade deficit, and net foreign direct investment flows. At the same time, the surplus in the service balance decreased by 11.6% to 29 billion MAD (approximately $2.99 billion) compared to 33 billion MAD (approximately $3.40 billion) at the end of March 2023, due to a larger increase in service imports (+17.6%) than exports (+2.2%).

As for travel receipts, they amounted to 23.72 billion MAD (approximately $2.44 billion) at the end of March 2024, compared to 24.99 billion MAD (approximately $2.58 billion) the previous year. Travel expenditures increased to 7.73 billion MAD (approximately $0.80 billion) (+38.6%), leaving a surplus of 15.99 billion MAD (approximately $1.65 billion) at the end of last March.

Aerospace sector exports exceeded 5.8 billion MAD (approximately $0.60 billion) during the first three months of 2024, up 13.7% compared to the same period in 2023. This increase was driven by higher sales in assembly (+20.3% to 3.82 billion MAD or approximately $0.39 billion) and EWIS (Electrical Wiring Interconnection System) (+2.7% to 1.95 billion MAD or approximately $0.20 billion). Additionally, automotive exports increased by 13.1% to 38.34 billion MAD (approximately $3.96 billion), with sales rising in construction (+20.5%), interior vehicles and seats (+19.3%), and wiring (+6.4%). The “Electronics and Electricity” sector also recorded a 5% increase to 6 billion MAD (approximately $0.62 billion USD), thanks to increased sales of circuit-breaking or connecting devices (+40.2%) and wires and cables (19.4%).

On the other hand, exports of “Other Mining,” “Textiles and Leather,” “Agriculture and Agri-food,” and “Phosphates and Derivatives” decreased by 22%, 3.7%, 3%, and 2.3% respectively.

Morocco’s trade deficit decreased by 14.6% to 61.9 billion MAD (approximately $6.38 billion) during the first three months of 2024. This reduction in the deficit was due to a 4% decrease in goods imports to 175.47 billion MAD (approximately $18.10 billion) and a 3% increase in exports to 113.56 billion MAD (approximately $11.71 billion USD). The coverage rate increased by 4.4 points to 64.7%.

The decrease in imports can be attributed to several factors, including a decrease in raw products by 22.3% to 7.19 billion MAD (approximately $0.74 billion USD), energy products by 13.6% to 28 billion MAD (approximately $2.89 billion USD), and food products by 7.7% to 21.88 billion MAD (approximately $2.26 billion). This decrease was offset by an increase in finished equipment products by 2.2% to 41.24 billion MAD (approximately $4.26 billion) and finished consumer products by 0.8% to 39.35 billion MAD (approximately $4.06 billion).

Net foreign direct investment reached nearly 5.8 billion MAD (approximately $0.60 billion) by the end of March 2024, marking a significant increase of 56.2% compared to the same period last year. This increase was primarily due to a 23.9% rise in investment revenues to over 9.7 billion MAD (approximately $1.00 billion), while expenditures decreased by 5.1% to 3.9 billion MAD (approximately $0.40 billion).

As for the net flow of Moroccan Direct Investments Abroad (MDIA), it amounted to -114 million MAD (approximately -$11.75 million USD) compared to +1.682 billion MAD (approximately $173.25 million) at the end of March 2023. Revenues related to these investments increased by 33.4% to 4.58 billion MAD (approximately $0.47 billion), while expenditures decreased by 12.7% to 4.46 billion MAD (approximately $0.46 billion).