Hommam Al Nassim 
Trade between Morocco and Algeria witnessed a decline over the past year, falling by 62% year-on-year to reach 1.3 billion dirhams ($130 million), the lowest level since 1999.
This decline comes in light of the severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries since 2021, which added new tensions to the tense historical relations due to several disputes, most notably the Sahara issue.
According to data from the Moroccan Exchange Office, Moroccan imports from Algeria fell to 650 million dirhams last year, a decrease of 61% compared to the previous year, while Moroccan exports to Algeria amounted to about 653 million dirhams, recording a decrease of 18%.
Trade between the two countries in 2021 was estimated at about 6.9 billion dirhams ($695 million), of which 5.8 billion dirhams were Moroccan imports from Algeria.
Natural gas used to constitute the largest portion of Algeria’s exports to Morocco, but after the passage of gas through Moroccan territory stopped, dates became the largest product imported by Morocco from Algeria, with a value of 441 million dirhams, representing 67% of the total value of imports.
On the other hand, trade exchange between Morocco and Spain, its most prominent trading partner, increased to 209 billion dirhams last year, an increase of 11% year-on-year.
Idris Lakrini, professor of international relations at Cadi Ayyad University and president of the Maghreb Action Organization, pointed out that trade between Morocco and Algeria was weak even before the severing of diplomatic relations due to the closure of the borders for decades.
He considered that this situation leads to major economic waste not only for the two countries but for the region as a whole, given that the majority of countries in the region deal mainly with the European Union.
Lakrini believes that the weakness of trade between Morocco and Algeria enhances the impact of the economic crises facing the two countries, noting that the Maghreb region is considered the least integrated in the world despite the presence of great opportunities for economic integration between its economies.
A previous report by the International Monetary Fund had indicated that the merger of the Maghreb countries could achieve an increase in economic growth by about a percentage point for each country in the long term, but there are geographical, political and economic obstacles that hinder the achievement of this merger.
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