Morocco’s trade deficit up 10.1pc in Jan-Aug

RABAT, Sept 16 (Xinhua): Morocco's trade deficit increased 10.1 per cent to 13.7 billion US dollars between January and August this year from the same period a year earlier, the foreign exchange regulator said on Saturday.

According to the statistics, the rise in the deficit was driven by a 10.2-per cent increase in imports to 31.7 billion dollars, particularly due to a hike in energy bill by 18.8 per cent, raw materials by 18.1 per cent and equipment by 12.5 per cent.

Morocco's exports increased by 10.2 per cent to nearly 18 billion dollars, but remained far less than imports.

The increase in exports was pushed by a rise of 17.7 per cent in car industry, 17.6 per cent in phosphate and 17.2 per cent in aeronautics products.