Exports of phosphate and by-products slumped to 40.86 billion MAD in July 2023, a 40.2% drop year on year, according to the Moroccan foreign exchange regulator’s monthly report.
This decline is the result of the decrease in sales of natural and chemical fertilizers by 36.5%, phosphoric acid by 46%, and raw phosphate by 53%.
Despite this decline, the export levels posted in July 2023 are still relatively high compared to the 2019-2021 period.
Moroccan phosphate giant OCP Group confirmed on Thursday a 37% decrease in its transactions in Q2 of this year, stabilizing at around 19.3 billion MAD.
Figures show that OCP’s transactions in H1 of 2023 fell by 33% to 37.6 billion MAD, compared to 56 billion MAD year on year.
OCP attributes this decline to a drop both in demand and in global raw material prices.
Morocco’s exports of phosphate and its derivatives soared to 115.48 billion MAD in 2022, recording an impressive 43.9% increase compared to the year before.
The surge in phosphate and derivatives exports in the past year can be credited to the value of natural and chemical fertilizers, which increased by 27.75 billion MAD at the end of 2022.
This increase in fertilizer export revenue in 2022 was driven by price hike, reaching 8,326 MAD per ton, compared to 4,775 MAD in 2021.