Remittances sent by Moroccan workers living abroad continue to be a very important part of the Kingdom's economy. The latest bulletin on monthly indicators published by the Bureau of Foreign Exchange, which reports to the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for publishing foreign trade and balance of payments statistics, reveals that between January and August 2023, remittances sent from abroad amounted to 77.92 billion dirhams (7.174 billion euros).
This figure represents an increase of 7.2% compared to the amount recorded in the first eight months of 2022, which was 72.7 billion dirhams (€6.706 billion).
The monthly bulletin of the Bureau de Change also shows a surplus of Dh91.73 billion (€8.461 billion) in the trade balance, an increase of 37.7%.
This increase is due to exports rising faster than imports: 24.6% to 171.94 billion dirhams (15.86 billion euros), compared to 12.3% to 80.21 billion dirhams (7.398 billion dollars).
More tourism, less phosphates
By sector, the growth in tourism revenues stands out, with a 32.5% increase in the first eight months of 2023, reaching 71.36 billion dirhams (6.57 billion euros) at the end of August.
This has partly offset lower revenues from sales of phosphates and their derivatives, which fell to Dh46.87bn (€4.323bn) at the end of August, although they remain well above those recorded in the first eight months of 2019 and 2021.
The Bureau de Change attributes this decline in revenue from phosphate sales to the 35.1% drop in sales of natural and chemical fertilisers, 46.8% in phosphoric acid sales, and 56.2 % in phosphate sales.
As far as sales of the agricultural and food industries sector are concerned, the bulletin data point to a slight increase between January and August 2023, thanks to a 1.8% increase in agricultural, forestry and hunting exports, and despite a 2.8% decrease in sales of the food industry.
