Fact Check: Morocco Has Not Imported Algerian Butane Gas Since 2022

Contrary to claims circulating in Algerian media,Morocco does not face butane price increases linked to halted Algerian exports—primarily because the Kingdom stopped importing Algerian butane three years ago.

Several Algerian news outlets recently asserted that Morocco faces butane price hikes in early 2026 due to Algeria cutting gas exports to the Kingdom,supposedly causing supply shortages forcing subsidy reform acceleration. This narrative is entirely false.

Morocco’s butane prices are not market-determined but administratively set through the Compensation Fund,which absorbs the difference between actual import costs and consumer prices. Any price adjustments represent budgetary decisions,not commercial relationship consequences.

When 12-kilogram butane cylinder prices rose from 40 to 50 dirhams and 3-kilogram cylinders from 10 to 12.5 dirhams in 2024,this reflected subsidy adjustment within the decompensation process—not supply shocks or external pressure. The evolution represents controlled rationalization transitioning from generalized subsidies toward targeted direct social assistance for eligible households.

The reform program initially planned successive 10-dirham increases in May 2024,early 2025,and early 2026,reaching a 70-dirham target. However,after the 2024 increase,the programmed 2025 adjustment was not implemented. No decision for 2026 increases has been made,with the 2026 Finance Bill allocating approximately 13.8 billion dirhams to the Compensation Fund without pursuing subsidy reform.

Exchange Office data reveals Morocco’s complete supply reorientation. In 2021,Algeria supplied approximately 19% of butane imports before disappearing entirely from statistics by 2023. The United States now provides nearly 77% of Morocco’s butane imports in 2024,up from 70% in 2022,while Europe supplies 23-26%.

Morocco sources from liquid,diversified international markets,with cargoes arriving from Spain,France,the Netherlands,and other countries depending on market conditions and maritime freight rates. Real cost determinants include international propane and butane prices,dirham exchange rates,and import-distribution logistics—not bilateral political relations.

The thesis that Algeria “punishes” Morocco by cutting butane supplies,causing price increases,is economically absurd given Morocco’s complete supply independence from Algerian sources for three years.