Morocco’s trade deficit widens to 352.3 billion dirhams in 2025

09:40

By: Azzat Manal

Morocco’s trade deficit widens to 352.3 billion dirhams in 2025

Morocco’s trade deficit widened by 15.5% in 2025, reaching 352.3 billion dirhams, compared with 304.9 billion dirhams a year earlier, according to the annual foreign trade report published by the Office des Changes. The deterioration reflects a stronger increase in imports than in exports, highlighting the continuing gap between the value of goods entering and leaving the country.

Imports rose by 8% to 822.3 billion dirhams, up from 761.3 billion dirhams in 2024. Exports, meanwhile, increased by a more modest 3%, reaching 470 billion dirhams. The difference in growth rates contributed to the widening deficit, as purchases from international markets continued to outpace the value of Moroccan goods sold abroad.

The import coverage ratio, which measures the proportion of imports financed by exports, fell to 57.2% in 2025 from 59.9% the previous year. This decline of 2.7 percentage points indicates that export earnings covered a smaller share of the country’s import bill. The trade deficit also represented a larger proportion of gross domestic product, rising from 19.9% in 2024 to 22.7% in 2025.

Other indicators in the report point to a greater role for imported goods in domestic demand. The import penetration rate increased by 1.8 percentage points, from 41.4% to 43.2%. Meanwhile, export intensity, measured by exports as a share of GDP, edged up by 0.6 percentage points to 30.3%, compared with 29.7% in 2024.

The figures underline the challenge of expanding export activity quickly enough to keep pace with rising import demand. Although stronger exports can support economic growth and generate foreign currency earnings, the overall trade balance also depends on the cost and volume of imported energy, industrial equipment, intermediate goods and consumer products.

A breakdown by product category shows that the energy trade deficit continued to narrow, reaching 102.4 billion dirhams. However, the deficit in capital goods widened to 99.4 billion dirhams, an increase of 11.4 billion dirhams compared with 2024. Imports of equipment can support investment and productive capacity, although their impact on the trade balance depends partly on whether they contribute to stronger domestic production and future exports.

The balance for finished consumer goods also deteriorated, with the deficit increasing by 30.1 billion dirhams. The raw materials deficit expanded by 9.6 billion dirhams to 20.7 billion dirhams, compared with 11.1 billion dirhams in the previous year. These developments reflect the differing pressures affecting Morocco’s imports across several segments of the economy.

Other categories showed mixed trends. The deficit in semi-finished products stood at 56.4 billion dirhams, edging down slightly by 101 million dirhams. By contrast, the food products deficit increased to 12.3 billion dirhams from 10.6 billion dirhams in 2024.

The latest figures highlight the importance of improving export performance while strengthening the domestic economy’s capacity to supply goods currently sourced from abroad. Diversifying export markets, developing higher-value industries and improving the competitiveness of Moroccan products could help narrow the gap over time. However, the trade balance will also remain sensitive to international prices, domestic demand and the country’s need for imported energy, equipment and industrial inputs.