Morocco's external trade has demonstrated sustained activity in the first half of 2026, marked by a rise in both imports and exports. However, this growth has resulted in a widening of the trade deficit and current account deficit, according to data from the Office des changes. The country's imports increased by 15.3% or 61 billion dirhams, reaching 458.9 billion dirhams at the end of June 2026, compared to 397.9 billion dirhams in the same period of 2025.
The trade deficit has worsened by 23.2%, increasing by 37.3 billion dirhams to 197.9 billion dirhams, compared to 160.6 billion dirhams in the first half of 2025. The coverage ratio, which measures the extent to which exports cover imports, stood at 56.9% compared to 59.6% in the same period of 2025. Despite the increase in exports, which rose by 10% or 23.7 billion dirhams to 261 billion dirhams, the growth in imports has had a greater impact on the trade balance.
The current account deficit has also widened to -32 billion dirhams, compared to -20.3 billion dirhams in the same period of 2025. This increase is largely due to the deterioration in the balance of goods, which showed a deficit of -174.2 billion dirhams, compared to -139.9 billion dirhams in June 2025. The primary income deficit also increased to -11.7 billion dirhams, from -10.9 billion dirhams in June 2025.
However, the Office des changes reported an improvement in the surplus of services, which increased to 82.7 billion dirhams, from 68.5 billion dirhams in June 2025. The secondary income surplus also rose to 71.2 billion dirhams, from 62 billion dirhams in June 2025. These improvements have partially offset the widening of the trade deficit.
The total volume of current transactions reached 983.2 billion dirhams, up 15% from 855.1 billion dirhams in the same period of 2025. This increase is attributed to a rise in both current receipts, which reached 475.6 billion dirhams, and current expenditures, which stood at 507.6 billion dirhams.
In terms of international investments, Morocco's net external position showed a debtor balance of 776 billion dirhams, compared to -765.9 billion dirhams at the end of March 2026. This situation is the result of a greater increase in financial liabilities, which rose by 49.4 billion dirhams, compared to a 39.3 billion dirham increase in financial assets.
The Office des changes reported that the increase in financial liabilities is largely due to the growth in portfolio investments, which rose by 39.5 billion dirhams, and direct investments, which increased by 14.5 billion dirhams. However, this growth was partially offset by a decline in other investments, which fell by 4.6 billion dirhams.
Key points
- Morocco's trade deficit worsened by 23.2% in the first half of 2026.
- The country's current account deficit increased to -32 billion dirhams.
- The coverage ratio stood at 56.9%, down from 59.6% in the same period of 2025.
