Phosphate exports beat all records

At the end of June, phosphates and derivatives marked a veritable export boom. According to the Foreign Exchange Office, sales of phosphates and derivatives increased by 84.3% to reach more than 57.46 billion dirhams at the end of June 2022.

This development shows The economistmainly follows the increase in sales of natural and chemical fertilizers (+19.72 billion dirhams) due to the price effect, which more than doubled (8,656 DH/T at the end of June 2022 versus only 3,671 DH/T at the end of June). June 2021) explains the office, which has just published its monthly foreign trade indicators for the month of June, noting that the exported volumes, on the other hand, have fallen by -5.1%.

Already in 2021, the turnover of the OCP Group showed a significant increase to 84.3 billion dirhams compared to 2020. This development is mainly due to continued demand in the main import regions and higher prices for all product categories (stone, fertilizer and acid).

The optimization of the Group’s operating performance and the increase in sales prices partially neutralized the increase in raw material prices (ammonia and sulphur) and led to an increase in EBITDA by 94% at the end of 2021, with a strong growth in the EBITDA margin of 43%.

The Foreign Exchange Office also states that exports of goods amounted to AED215.07 billion at the end of June 2022 compared to AED152.35 billion a year earlier, an increase of 41.2% or AED+62.72 billion, and adds that this increase affects all sectors, led by phosphates and derivatives, automotive, agri-food and textiles and leather.

Thus, the exports of the agri-food sector at the end of June 2022 amounted to 46.28 billion dirhams compared to 37.09 billion dirhams in the same period last year, an increase of 24.8%. This change is explained by the simultaneous increase in turnover of the food industry (+30.8% or +5.35 billion dirhams) and agriculture, forestry and hunting (+19.1% or +3.62 billion dirhams).

Textile and leather exports, for their part, increased by 32.4% in the first six months of 2022. This development is due to the increase in sales of the main segments of this industry, in this case ready-to-wear (+36.3% or +3.79 billion dirhams), knitwear (+27.4% or +927 million dirhams) and footwear (+27, 9% or +354 million dirhams).