Moroccan exports down to $21bn in 2013

Moroccan exports in 2013 fell by 0.2 per cent to reach 183.5 billion dirhams ($21 billion), compared to 183.9 billion dirhams ($21.13 billion) in 2012.

In its annual report for 2013, the Customs Administration said that the total imports amounted to 380 billion dirhams ($43.6 billion) in 2013, compared to 386.9 billion dirhams ($44 billion) in 2012, a reduction of 1.8 per cent.

The authority added that its revenue during the past year fell by two per cent, making them about 79.4 billion dirhams ($9 billion), compared with 81 billion dirhams ($ 9.3 billion) in 2012.

It explained that the customs’ revenues made up 40.6 per cent of the total tax revenues in Morocco during 2013.

The Department of Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration said that the rate of thwarting smuggling operations rose by 18 per cent during 2013, as the department succeeded in thwarting 7,895 attempts of smuggling goods, compared with 6,689 attempts in 2012.

The Moroccan Ministry of Finance and Economy asserted, in its economic and financial report for the current year that the Moroccan government will continue to work on streamlining the customs’ procedures in order to facilitate transactions.