Weak Auto Industry Worldwide Causes Drop in Morocco’s Car Exports

People wait with their cars to get on a ferry to Morocco at the southern Spanish port of Algeciras (File photo: Reuters)
People wait with their cars to get on a ferry to Morocco at the southern Spanish port of Algeciras (File photo: Reuters)
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Weak Auto Industry Worldwide Causes Drop in Morocco’s Car Exports

People wait with their cars to get on a ferry to Morocco at the southern Spanish port of Algeciras (File photo: Reuters)
People wait with their cars to get on a ferry to Morocco at the southern Spanish port of Algeciras (File photo: Reuters)

Morocco's car exports fell 6.2 percent in the first five months of 2019 in response to a downturn in the global automotive industry.

This is the first time that Morocco’s auto industry hits reverse after witnessing a growth in the past few years and becoming the country’s top export sector.

Despite the decline, the auto industry remained at the forefront of Morocco's exports with $1.6 billion, representing about 12 percent of the total value of Morocco's exports during the first five months of this year.

Wires and electrical cables industry ranked second in Morocco's value-added exports, with a value of $1.5 billion, up 7.2 percent and accounting for 11.5 percent of the country's total exports. This industry developed greatly in connection with the needs of the automotive industry, including the manufacture of components that enter into cars assembly.

Agricultural fertilizer exports came third with $1.2 billion and a 1.5 percent growth, followed by clothing exports of $1.1 billion.

Phosphoric acid ranked fourth in Morocco's exports over the same period by $685 million, a strong growth of 35.5 percent in association with the country’s increase of phosphoric acid exports to Africa under the new industrial partnerships of the OCP Group (Office Chérifien des Phosphates).

Morocco's exports during the first five months of the year amounted to $13.2 billion, and saw an increase of 3.44 percent compared to the same period last year.

These exports accounted for 29.2 percent of finished products, 22.6 percent of food and beverages, 20.4 percent of semi-finished products, 19.7 percent of finished industrial equipment, 4.7 percent of ores, and 2 percent of plant and animal raw materials. 



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.