Morocco Import Data: $70.64B in 2023, Down 2.66%

Fuel Imports Fill a Near-Total Energy Gap

Morocco imported $70.64 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 2.66% from $72.58 billion in 2022. Mineral fuels led every category at 17.05% of the total, worth $12.04 billion. Fossil fuel imports have accounted for roughly 90% of Morocco's total primary energy supply and 80% of its electricity supply in recent years, since the country has almost no domestic oil or gas reserves of its own. That single dependency makes mineral fuels the largest and most consistent driver of Morocco's entire import bill. Morocco has invested heavily in wind and solar capacity to reduce that exposure over time, but electricity generation and transportation still lean overwhelmingly on fuel shipped in from abroad. Any spike in global oil prices flows almost directly into Morocco's import figures, with little domestic production to absorb the shock.

Electrical machinery followed at 10.31% ($7.28 billion), and vehicles added 9.24% ($6.52 billion). Machinery contributed 8.98% ($6.34 billion). Together, these three categories make up more than a quarter of Morocco's imports. They trace back to the same automotive assembly industry that dominates the export side of Morocco's trade. Renault and Stellantis plants, along with the wire harness manufacturers clustered around Kenitra, need a constant supply of components, raw materials and production equipment before any finished vehicle or wiring system can ship back out. That process-and-re-export pattern is why these three import categories track so closely with the vehicle and electrical machinery categories that dominate Morocco's exports. The country is not just building cars and wiring systems from scratch. It is importing the pieces, assembling them, and sending the finished products back out at a markup. Cereals supplied 4.24% ($3.00 billion). Morocco imports more than 50% of the cereals it consumes, though it remains relatively more self-sufficient than neighbors like Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, all of which depend on imports for 60% or more of their grain supply. Plastics added 4.24% ($2.99 billion), and iron and steel supplied 2.56% ($1.81 billion). Aircraft parts contributed 2.42% ($1.71 billion), iron and steel articles added 2.07% ($1.46 billion), and inorganic chemicals closed out the top ten at 1.73% ($1.22 billion).

Spain Supplies the Most, China Is Close Behind

Spain alone supplied 15.68% of Morocco's imports in 2023, worth $11.07 billion, more than any other single country. China followed close behind at 10.62% ($7.50 billion), and France separately added 10.57% ($7.47 billion). Together, these three sources made up 36.87% of total import value, a far more even split than the concentration seen on Morocco's export side, where Spain and France alone claim well more than four out of every ten dollars.

The USA supplied 8.45% ($5.97 billion), and Turkey contributed 5.11% ($3.61 billion). Germany added 4.94% ($3.49 billion), and Italy supplied 4.81% ($3.40 billion). Saudi Arabia contributed 3.31% ($2.34 billion), almost certainly reflecting crude oil and refined fuel shipments rather than manufactured goods. Portugal added 2.33% ($1.64 billion), and Brazil rounded out the top ten at 2.20% ($1.56 billion). This more diversified sourcing pattern reflects Morocco's need to pull in energy, food and industrial inputs from wherever they are cheapest and most available, rather than relying on the tighter European relationships that define its export markets.

Imports Peaked in 2022 and Have Eased Slightly Since

Import values climbed sharply and steadily for three straight years running before finally pulling back. The total stood at $51.05 billion in 2019, dropped to $44.53 billion in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted global trade, then rebounded strongly to $58.68 billion in 2021. It jumped further to $72.58 billion in 2022, the high point of the period, before easing to $70.64 billion in 2023.

That 2022 peak lines up closely with the global surge in energy prices that year, since mineral fuels make up such a large share of Morocco's import bill. A calmer energy market throughout most of 2023 explains much of that pullback largely on its own. With imports running well ahead of exports throughout this entire period, Morocco carries a persistent trade deficit that energy prices alone can swing by billions of dollars in either direction, regardless of what happens elsewhere in the economy. That gap gets financed through tourism revenue, remittances from Moroccans working abroad, and foreign investment rather than goods trade alone, a common pattern for economies that import far more physical product than they sell.