Morocco's Phosphate Exports Reach $2.45 Bn

Heavy machinery is seen at a phosphate mine at the Boucraa factory of the National Moroccan phosphate company (OCP) (File photo: Reuters)
Heavy machinery is seen at a phosphate mine at the Boucraa factory of the National Moroccan phosphate company (OCP) (File photo: Reuters)
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Morocco's Phosphate Exports Reach $2.45 Bn

Heavy machinery is seen at a phosphate mine at the Boucraa factory of the National Moroccan phosphate company (OCP) (File photo: Reuters)
Heavy machinery is seen at a phosphate mine at the Boucraa factory of the National Moroccan phosphate company (OCP) (File photo: Reuters)

Morocco's exports of phosphate and derivatives reached $2.45 billion at the end of March, according to recent data from the Foreign Exchange Office (FEO).

The Office indicated that Morocco's phosphate exports almost doubled as of March 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, when the number reached $1.35 billion.

It attributed the change to the increase in natural and chemical fertilizers sales.

Exports of the agriculture and food industry sector amounted to $2.44 billion compared to $2.13 billion during the same period last year, a 14.9 percent increase.

The Office attributed the development to the "simultaneous increase in sales of the food industry (+27.4 percent) and agriculture, forestry, and hunting (+5.7 percent)."

Textile and leather exports rose 32.3 percent during the first quarter of this year, the highest level during the past five years, while aviation sales increased 53 percent to $517 million, compared to $3.38 million a year ago.

The Office reported that remittances from Moroccans living abroad exceeded $2.29 billion during the first three months of 2022, an 8.3 percent increase compared to last year's same period.

The FEO also reported that Morocco's trade deficit widened 43 percent to $6.56 billion, with imports rising 34 percent, while exports increased 29 percent from January to March compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the High Commission for Planning announced that the unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percent, falling from 12.5 to 12.1 percent.

Urban areas registered a decrease in the unemployment rate from 17.1 percent in Q1 2021 to 16.3 percent in the same period in 2022. Rural areas recorded a slight decline of 0.2 percent, from 5.3 percent in Q1 2021's to 5.1 percent in the same period in 2022.

The unemployment rate among Moroccan women also fell by 0.2 percent, from 17.5 percent in Q1 2021 to 17.3 percent in Q1 of 2022.



Türkiye's Simsek to Meet Ratings Agencies, Investors on US Trip

Cargo ships are anchored in the Marmara Sea as they await to cross the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
Cargo ships are anchored in the Marmara Sea as they await to cross the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
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Türkiye's Simsek to Meet Ratings Agencies, Investors on US Trip

Cargo ships are anchored in the Marmara Sea as they await to cross the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
Cargo ships are anchored in the Marmara Sea as they await to cross the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said he will meet with rating agencies, investors and companies planning to shift supply to Türkiye during a visit to the United States this week.

"I will be in America this week for the IMF, World Bank and G20 meetings. We will meet with rating agencies in New York at the beginning of the week and then with direct investors based in America," Simsek told reporters during a weekend visit to Türkiye's Black Sea province of Giresun.

"We will meet with real sector representatives, especially US companies that plan to shift their supply to Türkiye, especially following recent developments," he said, referring to the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Last Friday, Türkiye's overnight interest rate rose to the new upper band of the rate corridor, around 49%, a day after the central bank's surprise policy tightening.

Those moves followed weeks of market turmoil triggered by the March arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, and then the imposition of tariffs by Trump.

Simsek said he would attend around 15 bilateral meetings or meetings organized by investment banks each day in the United States, and would convey the message that Türkiye's economic program will not change.

"In all these meetings, we will say that there is no change in the program, that there is a very strong political will behind the program," Simsek said.