Morocco imports approximately 110 billion dirhams worth of hydrocarbons and refined products annually — a figure that peaked at 153 billion dirhams in 2022 during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. In practice, Morocco operates on an average of just 20 days — barely enough to absorb minor disruptions, let alone a sustained regional crisis. Two taxes apply to every liter sold — a fixed volume-based consumption tax and a 10% VAT that rises with prices. When oil prices surge, the Treasury automatically benefits from higher VAT revenue, making the state the unintentional first winner of the very crisis hitting consumers hardest. Economists estimate that closing the strategic reserve gap would require an upfront investment of around 20 billion dirhams — substantial, but modest compared to the 40-billion-dirham spike in the import bill recorded in a single crisis year.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 20, 2026 20:15 UTC