The value of exports of phosphates and derivatives showed sustained growth in the second quarter of 2022, the Department of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance recently announced.
Exports in this sector thus continued to grow, in value, during the second quarter of the current year, indicated the DEPF in its economic report for the month of August (No. 306).
The value of exports of phosphates and derivatives increased by 85.6% in the second quarter of 2022, benefiting from the continued surge in their prices on the international market.
The increase in the value of exports of phosphate derivatives by 90.3% and the increase in the value of rock phosphate exports by 48.7% explain this performance, the DEPF indicated in its note on the situation.
Taking into account an 82.7% increase in the first quarter of 2022, the value of shipments of phosphates and derivatives appreciated by 84.3% at the end of the first half of 2022. It thus reached 57.5 billion dirhams. , following rising 24.3% a year earlier.
As a reminder, the Foreign Exchange Office estimated that “sales of phosphates and derivatives increased by 81.1% to reach 68,773 MDH at the end of July 2022 once morest 37,974 MDH at the end of July 2021”.
In its report on its monthly foreign trade indicators for July 2022, the public body attributed this development “mainly to the increase in sales of natural and chemical fertilizers (+22.793 MDH) due to the price effect which has more than doubled (8,823 DH/T at the end of July 2022 once morest only 3,897 DH/T at the end of July 2021)”. The Office estimated, on the other hand, that the quantities exported had fallen by 14.3% over the same period.
It should also be remembered that in its July 2022 economic report (No. 305), the DEPF reported the continued good performance of exports of phosphates and derivatives in value.
Exports of phosphates and derivatives reached 47.6 billion dirhams at the end of May 2022, up 96.2%, covering an increase in those of phosphate derivatives by 101% and those of phosphate rock by 58.8%. , she said, noting that “the value of rock phosphate exports recorded a notable appreciation thanks to the price effect”.
It should be noted that following analysis of the data collected, it appears that the production of phosphate rock maintained its downward trend in the second quarter of 2022, while the production of derivatives almost stagnated, noted the Financial Studies and Forecasts Department in its note. of conjuncture.
Thus, as these same data show, rock phosphate production fell by 16.5% in the second quarter of 2022; while the production of its derivatives, on the other hand, experienced a virtual stagnation at -0.3%, following -4% a year earlier.
The DEPF affirms that “this development is due to the increase in the production of fertilizers by 2.4% and the decline in the production of phosphoric acid by 4.2%”.
According to the same source, rock phosphate production fell by 13.8% at the end of the first half of 2022, following posting a 2% increase a year earlier. “Similarly, the production of its derivatives fell by 2.4% following -4.6% at the end of March 2022 and +0.9% a year earlier,” said the DEPF.
By way of comparison, in its economic report of last July, the DEPF noted a fall in the volume of phosphate rock production by 11% for the first quarter.
This trend continued for the first two months of the second quarter of 2022, assured the DEPF, noting an 18.8% decline in phosphate rock production.
“Production of phosphate derivatives virtually stagnated during these two months, while the value of their exports firmed up by 121.4%, taking advantage of the rise in their export price as well as the increase in the volume of fertilizer shipments by 1.4%,” said the DEPF.
Taking these developments into account, it concluded that “rock phosphate production fell by 14.3% at the end of the first five months of 2022 and that of its derivatives by 2.7%”.
Alain Bouithy
