Morocco's trade deficit widened 48.7% to 150.5 billion dirhams ($14.6 billion) in the first six months of this year, as global commodities prices surged, the foreign exchange regulator said on Monday.
Imports rose 44.2% from a year earlier to 365.5 billion dirhams, while exports increased 41.2% to 215 billion dirhams, the regulator said in a monthly report.
Morocco's energy bill soared the most, up 124.7% to 71.4 billion dirhams, while cost of wheat imports climbed 55% to 13.3 billion dirhams, as the drought-hit country reaps a meagre harvest.Morocco, which has the world's largest phosphates reserves, saw its exports of the mineral and its derivatives - including fertilisers - grow 84.3% to 57.4 billion dirhams.Tourism revenues tripled to 27.3 billion dirhams, recovering from restrictive measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Remittances from Moroccans abroad, crucial to the country’s inflow of hard currency, increased 6.1% to 47 billion dirhams, while foreign direct investment rose 44% to 21.5 billion dirhams.Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Tomasz Janowski
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