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Morocco's Foreign Exchange office reported a trade deficit of 8 percent, accounting for 118.3 billion dirhams ($ 12.4 billion) in the first seven months of 2018.
Imports grew by 9.8 percent attaining 278.3 billion dirhams between January and July, while exports increased by 11.2 percent, reaching 160 billion dirhams.
Imports of equipment rose by 12.1%, finished goods by 7.2% and non-manufactured goods by 4.4%. Imports of energy products increased by 16.8% while food grew by 7.5%.
The automotive sector continued to lead Morocco's exports increasing by 16.9%, followed by agriculture and plant food at 5%, whereas exports of phosphate and its derivatives increased by 15.1% accounting for 29.2 billion dirhams. Exports of agricultural products increased by 19.8%, while tourism revenues grew by 9.3% and remittances of Moroccans residing abroad increased by 5.3%. In contrast, foreign direct investments decreased by 25.6% to reach 12.6 billion dirhams.