Moroccan exports totalled MD147.84bn ($18bn) in 2010, marking a rise of 30.8 per cent since 2009 when total exports were MD113bn.

A report from the Rabat’s Office des Change attributes the rise to a 96.6 per cent spike in exports of phosphates and by-products, which totalled MD112.21bn. Food exports declined by 2 per cent since 2009. The government suspended the levy of tariffs on wheat in April 2010 to keep prices stable.  

Imports were valued at just under MD300bn in 2010, up 13.3 per cent since the previous year.

The trade deficit increased to MD151.27bn from MD150.96bn in 2009.