That dollar amount reflects a 44.2% increase compared to $29.3 billion in 2018.
Year over year, the total value of Moroccan exports grew by 15.6% from $36.6 billion during 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the Moroccan dirham depreciated by -8.3% against the US dollar since 2018 and shrank by -13% from 2021 to 2022. Morocco’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Morocco’s Most Valuable Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 72.6% of products exported from Morocco were bought by importers in: Spain (19.7% of the Moroccan total), France (19.1%), India (6.3%), Italy (4.5%), Brazil (4.1%), United Kingdom (3.8%), United States of America (3.3%), Germany (3.1%), Türkiye (2.6%), Bangladesh (2.11%), Netherlands (2.09%) and Belgium (1.9%).
From a continental perspective, 62.9% of Morocco’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 17.3% was sold to importers in Asia. Morocco shipped another 9% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to Latin America (5.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (4.7%), then Oceania (0.5%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Morocco’s population of 36.7 million people, its total $42.3 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $1,150 for every resident in the northwest African country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $1,000 per capital one year earlier during 2021.
Morocco’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Moroccan global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Morocco.
- Fertilizers: US$7.7 billion (18.2% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $6.3 billion (15%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $6 billion (14.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $2.7 billion (6.4%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $2.4 billion (5.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.9 billion (4.5%)
- Vegetables: $1.69 billion (4%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $1.61 billion (3.8%)
- Fish: $1.6 billion (3.8%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $1.3 billion (3.2%)
Morocco’s top 10 exports amounted to over three-quarters (78.7%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Fertilizers represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 34.6% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was the salt, sulphur, stone and cement category, via a 29.3% advance.
Morocco’s shipments of vehicles posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 25.4%.
The lone decliner among Morocco’s top 10 export categories was fish, dragged down by a -8.8% year-over-year reduction.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, in 2022 Morocco’s most valuable exported products were fertilizer mixes (16.2% of Morocco’s global total); cars (12.3%), insulated wire or cable (9.1%), phosphoric and polyphosphoric acids (5.3%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (3.2%), aircraft parts (3.1%), natural calcium or aluminum phosphates (also 3.1%), fresh or chilled tomatoes (2.4%), automobile parts or accessories (also 2.4%) then moluscs (2.3%).
Products Attracting Biggest Trade Surpluses for Morocco
The following types of Moroccan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Fertilizers: US$7.3 billion (Up by 33.9% since 2021)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $2.5 billion (Up by 9.6%)
- Vegetables: $1.53 billion (Up by 12.3%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.39 billion (Up by 12.6%)
- Fish: $1.33 billion (Down by -13%)
- Vehicles: $863 million (Reversing a -$495.3 million deficit)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $797.2 million (Up by 7.1%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $570 million (Up by 3.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $330.3 million (Down by -12.9%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $160.2 million (Up by 154.4%)
Morocco has highly positive net exports in the international trade of fertilizers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Morocco’s strong competitive advantages under the fertilizers product category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Morocco
Morocco incurred an overall -$30.4 billion product trade deficit for 2022, expanding 37.7% from -$22.1 billion in red ink one year earlier.
Below are exports from Morocco that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Morocco’s goods trail Moroccan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$14.6 billion (Up by 78.9% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$5.2 billion (Up by 2.7%)
- Cereals: -$3.7 billion (Up by 55.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.7 billion (Up by 16.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.8 billion (Up by 24.6%)
- Miscellaneous manufactured articles: -$1.04 billion (Up by 12.8%)
- Manmade staple fibers: -$1.01 billion (Up by 15.9%)
- Paper, paper items: -$1 billion (Up by 35.9%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$987 million (Up by 32.7%)
- Aluminum: -$810.7 million (Up by 37.3%)
Morocco has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels including oil category notably for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gas, coal then petroleum coke including other residues from petroleum oil.
Moroccan Export Companies
Three Moroccan regional banks rank among Forbes Global 2000, namely:
- Attijariwafa Bank
- Banque Centrale Populaire
- BMCE Bank
Wikipedia lists some exports-related companies headquartered in Morocco. Selected examples are shown below.
- Akwa Group (oil, gas)
- Compagnie Marocaine de Navigation (shipping)
- Laraki (automobiles)
- Les Domaines Agricoles (agribusiness)
- Med Airlines (cargo airliner)
- Nareva (oil, gas)
- Office Chérifien des Phosphates (phosphate)
- Société Automobiles Ménara (automobiles)
- Somaca (automobiles)
- Sonasid (steel)
In macroeconomic terms, Morocco’s total exported goods represent 11.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($362.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 11.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 11.9% for 2021. This suggests a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Morocco’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Morocco’s unemployment rate averaged 12.9% for 2022, up from an average 11.9% in 2021 per the International Monetary Fund.
Morocco’s capital city is Rabat.
See also Morocco’s Main Imported Products, South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports and Spain’s Top Trading Partners, Nigeria’s Top 10 Imports and South Africa’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Africa: Morocco. Accessed on May 14, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Morocco. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 14, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on May 14, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 14, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Morocco. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Wikipedia, Morocco. Accessed on May 14, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 14, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Rabat, Morocco. Accessed on May 14, 2023
