La factura energética en Marruecos alcanza la cima

Morocco reaches a record level of more than 153 billion dirhams in 2022 with regard to the energy bill.  This leads to an increase of 102%, due to the rise in the price of petroleum products. 

According to the international market, the Office Chérifien des Phosphates achieved the highest results in terms of number of transactions and revenues paid to the budget. One of the most important sectors is the automotive sector, along with the agricultural and food industries. The automotive sector, with sales of Dh111.2 billion, recorded 33% more than in 2021, an annual increase of Dh27.6 billion. The other two sectors, with exports of 81.2 billion dirhams, compared to 69.8 billion dirhams in 2021.  

According to data from the Foreign Exchange Bureau, the increase in energy bills was mainly due to a doubling of prices to 10,283 dirhams per tonne and a 7.2% increase in volume. Energy costs have worsened Morocco's trade deficit.  

Last year, imports reached some 311.6 billion dirhams, representing an annual growth rate of 56.5%, after imports reached 737.7 billion dirhams and exports amounted to some 426 billion dirhams.

Food imports to Morocco cost some 86 billion dirhams. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, signed a financial protocol to double the execution of new projects in Morocco by Spanish companies, in which the sectors mentioned above stand out.

Data from the Foreign Exchange Office indicate that exports of those important sectors have made a good impression, starting with sales of phosphates and their components, where they accessed 115.4 billion dirhams, compared to 80.2 billion dirhams in 2021.

But it was not only those sectors that stood out the most, exports from the textile and aviation sectors also achieved good increases, 43.9 billion dirhams, a 20% increase.

The aeronautical industry has a variation of 43.9 billion dirhams, an increase of 34.4%. The tourism sector, despite the health crisis, is also performing well, with the Kingdom earning revenues of around 91.2 billion dirhams, an increase of 166.1%. It is a testament to the resurgence of Morocco's tourism industry as flight restrictions around the world come to an end and tourists return to the North African kingdom.

Members of the Moroccan community residing abroad transferred Dh109.1 billion to their countries of origin, contributing to the growth of the country's balance, which now accounts for a third of the current balance.  

The rise in oil product prices is due on the one hand to the conflict situation in Ukraine, as world energy and power plant prices are close to doubling, but on the other hand it remains stable in Morocco.  

One could say that Morocco could generate almost all of its electricity as it has the potential to produce 96% of its electricity using renewable energy by 2050. This could lead to a 12% reduction in the country's energy bill, but, thanks to this energy transition, Morocco could invest in other sectors. All of this would benefit the population and could position Morocco as one of the world leaders in clean energy, according to experts.