Rabat, (IINA) – After recording a drop in 2014, Moroccan sales of phosphate have recovered as sales figures increased in the first seven months of 2015 by 17 percent compared to the same period last year, the latest figures from the Exchange Office have revealed, Morocco World News.
A statement by the Exchange Office said sales increased to MAD 25.4 billion between January and July 2015, compared to MAD 21.7 in the same period last year.
The statement added that phosphate sales have significantly contributed to an increase in Moroccan global exports in the first seven months of 2015, which increased by 6.3 percent.
Earlier figures released in March by the Exchange Office said the increase of phosphate sales reduced Morocco’s trade deficit by 37.2 percent.
The trade gap narrowed to MAD 20.5 billion by the end of February 2015, compared to MAD 32.64 billion a year earlier.
The Office Cherifien de Phosphate (OCP), the world’s leading phosphate exporter, exported MAD 5.2 billion worth of phosphates by the end of February 2015.
OCP is targeting an annual phosphate rock production of 47 million tons by 2017, against the current level of 34 million tons.
The company said that fertilizer production is expected to hit 10 million tons in 2017,making it the world’s top producer.
OCP controls 36 percent of the global raw phosphate market, and 50 percent of the sales of phosphoric acid. It also controls 70 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves.