Remittance payments to Morocco rise

Yearly remittance payments from Moroccans living overseas hit 111.53 billion dirhams in November 2025, representing a 1.6% rise from a year earlier, according to the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office, Moroccan government-friendly outlet Hespress reported on January 4th.

The figures demonstrate a growing trend in payments from abroad, which have made up an increasingly significant part of the Moroccan economy since the Covid 19 pandemic.

Economist Mohamed Jdari believes remittances have followed a stable incline since 2020, rising from 60 billion dirhams in 2019 to a projected figure of over 120 billion dirhams in 2025. He described the trend as an indicator of the attachment of Moroccans abroad to their home country.

He also outlined the benefits of remittances, with overseas payments providing essential foreign currency that benefit reserves and financial imports, especially since the rise in energy and food costs. Portions of these currency transfers are also saved within the banking system, aiding liquidity and investment.

Aside from their economic impacts, remittances directly improve the lives of many Moroccans, with an estimated 65 to 70% sent directly to households. These payments reduce social pressures for thousands of families whilst encouraging spending.

However, Jdari noted the lack of productive investment with remittance payments, estimating that no more than 10% of payments are invested, with most funds transferred into real estate or low impact services.

Youssef Guerraoui Filali, head of the Moroccan Center for Governance and Management, warned that increased remittances will not remove the countries structural trade deficit.

He said that although they improve foreign currency reserves and give financial safeguards, imports continue to exceed exports because of agricultural and industrial requirements that cannot be met in the Kingdom.

Filali said that despite the 1.6% increase in remittances, imports rose by over 9%, demonstrating the need to improve export competitiveness.

He promoted expanding exports outside of the traditional sectors of phosphates, automobiles and aeronautics, with a greater emphasis on agro industry, food processing, textiles and electronics as well as household equipment.

The Moroccan government has pushed for an improvement in food exports. In November it was reported that Lemon exports from Morocco between November 2024 and August 2025 to the UK, were roughly 40 times greater than the previous year.

Hespress, Maghrebi.org