Remittances from the Moroccan diaspora exceed 2.73 billion dollars in March

The growth of the Moroccan diaspora is increasingly clear. Reaching the 2.73 billion dollar mark in remittances in March, Moroccans living abroad (MRE) remain a fundamental pillar of the economy and investments at the national level. 

Although the Office of Foreign Exchange (OE) announced that inflows declined by 0.4 per cent, the figures remain positive and reflect that the Moroccan market continues to boom. 

At the same time, the OE clarified that the decrease does not mean a problem for the Moroccan economy. This is mainly because 2023 was a year full of records for the Moroccan economy. In terms of figures, 2023 exceeded 2022 revenues by 4% to reach 11.5 billion dollars.

Since the liberalisation of Moroccan currencies and the Moroccan market in 1996, the growth and establishment of MREs has been fundamental. Along with tourism, investment and exports, remittances have been a major contribution to the Central Bank (Bank Al Maghrib). 

Morocco's Minister of Investment, Mohcine Jazouli, underlined the importance of remittances from the Moroccan diaspora and urged and encouraged Moroccans living abroad to invest more in Morocco. Jazouli pointed out that only 10% of the funds transferred to Morocco in 2021 went to investments. 

King Mohammed VI has repeatedly called on the government to improve the business environment for MREs in addition to inviting representatives of the Moroccan diaspora to take advantage of investment opportunities in his country. These requests were met during this year, which saw for the first time a positive balance between the resources obtained by the MREs and the expenses they generate. 

Morocco's economy continues to grow 

Consistently strong performance year after year has seen the country reduce its trade deficit by 15 points, thanks to a 4% reduction in imports and a 3% increase in exports. 

The reasons for this include lower energy, raw material and food prices, the EO said. Similarly, increases in the textile, automotive, phosphate and renewable energy industries helped widen the gap over the past year. 

During the period, the country's main export sectors continued their growth trajectory, with the automotive industry as the undisputed leader. The total value of exports amounted to 113.5 billion dirhams (equivalent to 11.2 billion dollars), reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3%. 

In particular, exports from the automotive sector recorded a substantial increase of 13%, reaching 38 billion dirhams (equivalent to 3.7 billion dollars). This strong performance of the automotive industry contributed to the overall growth in the value of the country's exports during the period.