- 07:59Nvidia CEO: Factories will be ai-powered within a decade
- 07:44Half of National guard troops withdrawn from Los Angeles amid de-escalation of protests
- 07:29Trump administration deports undocumented immigrants to Eswatini amid legal controversy
- 07:15 Temperatures dip along southern coasts, rise slightly elsewhere this Wednesday
- 17:30Rising prices in the US under pressure from tariffs
- 17:02Calls for calm after anti-immigrant riots in torre pacheco
- 16:30Vicenne group's IPO oversubscribed 64 times!
- 16:17Sidi Slimane aims to position itself on the regional Industrial map
- 16:14Algeria: Nasser El-Djinn joins other former intelligence chiefs in prison
Follow us on Facebook
Morocco's fuel market shows resilience amid price fluctuations in Q3 2024
Morocco's fuel sector demonstrated mixed performance in the third quarter of 2024, with total fuel imports reaching 1.7 million tons valued at $1.26 billion, marking a 10.8% volume increase despite a 9.75% value decline compared to 2023.
The revenue of Morocco's nine major fuel distributors totaled MAD 20.16 billion ($1.96 billion), showing a 5.8% decrease from the previous year's MAD 21.4 billion ($2.08 billion). Despite this decline, total sales volumes of diesel and gasoline increased by 4.8%, reaching 2.33 billion liters, according to the Competition Council's latest report.
The council's fourth quarterly analysis revealed that the number of authorized petroleum product importers remained stable at 31 companies through September 2024. Diesel dominated imports at 88%, with gasoline comprising the remaining 12%. The nine key distributors managed 84% of total imports, handling 1.43 million tons, a 5.1% volume increase, though import value dropped by 14% to MAD 10.89 billion ($1.06 billion).
Tax revenues from fuel imports grew by 6.6% to MAD 7.21 billion ($705 million), with the internal consumption tax contributing MAD 5.35 billion ($523 million), representing 74% of total fiscal revenue. Storage capacity expanded to 1.56 million tons, up 4.2% from the second quarter, with diesel accounting for 88% of capacity.
The distribution landscape saw 35 licensed operators managing 3,478 gas stations, including 31 new locations in the third quarter. The nine main distributors operated 2,520 stations, slightly down from 2,543 in the previous quarter. Total fuel sales reached 2.33 billion liters, with diesel sales comprising 1.59 billion liters, representing over 83% of total sales.
The market analysis indicated declining international fuel prices, purchase costs, and domestic selling prices. While distributors fully passed on gasoline price reductions to consumers, they retained partial savings on diesel. Average gross margins increased slightly from the second quarter, reaching MAD 1.46 ($0.14) per liter for diesel and MAD 2 ($0.20) per liter for gasoline, indicating stable profit margins despite market fluctuations.