Mauritania's goods trade deficit widened to 18.47bn MRU (€409mn) in the third quarter of 2026 from 6.12bn MRU a year earlier, statistics agency ANSADE said in its quarterly foreign trade note. Imports rose 26.3% year on year to 67.38bn MRU. Meanwhile, exports gained 3.5% to 48.91bn MRU. Petroleum product imports climbed 67.3% to 27.29bn MRU (€604mn), the agency said.
Analysis: The deficit is now three times its year-earlier level, with fuel accounting for most of the increase. Petroleum imports rose by 10.98bn MRU (€243mn), about 78% of the increase in total imports, by our calculation. Exports covered only 72.6% of imports, against 85.5% in the second quarter. That is because gold sales fell by 6.14bn MRU (€136mn) from the previous quarter, the entire drop in exports. A wider deficit usually raises demand for foreign currency. However, ANSADE's own second-quarter figures disagree. The trade note puts that deficit at 9.37bn MRU (€207mn), against 11.81bn MRU in its economic report. No date has been set for the fourth-quarter note.
Source: ANSADE, ANSADE, Note trimestrielle du commerce extérieur de la Mauritanie, troisième trimestre 2026 (N° 74, novembre 2026), Q3 2026 and Q3 2025 and Q2 2026; ANSADE, ANSADE, Note trimestrielle de conjoncture, deuxième trimestre 2026 (N°84, September 2026), Q2 2026; AMI (state news agency), AMI home page exchange-rate box (BCM rates), read November 10, 2026, November 9, 2026
Morocco stopped issuing new export licenses for tomatoes and other farm products bound for African markets from the night of November 4 to curb domestic prices, which had reached 17 dirhams a kilogram, foreign trade minister Omar Hejira said, according to Moroccan news site Hespress as cited by Mauritanian news site Madar. Licenses issued before the decision remain valid, and new ones will be issued gradually from the week of November 9, he said.
Analysis: The freeze comes two weeks after Mauritania's commerce ministry said tomatoes were back at 500 old ouguiyas, or 50 MRU (€1.11), a kilogram in Nouakchott after a price spike, Sahara Medias reported. The gradual restart suggests a short interruption rather than a ban, although Morocco gave no date for a full reopening. Shipments to Europe were spared, Moroccan news site Bladi reported. Mauritania's reliance on Moroccan vegetables has not been published. Nouakchott wholesalers are typically the first to feel a gap in supply, with food prices already up 12.5% over the year to September, according to statistics agency ANSADE. ANSADE's November consumer prices, due in December, should show any effect.
Source: Madar, Madar, citing Hespress (November 8, 2026), From the night of November 4 to 5, 2026 and Early November 2026; Sahara Medias, Sahara Medias, 'Le ministère du Commerce : les tomates de nouveau disponibles sur les marchés de Nouakchott au prix de 500 MRO' (25 Oct 2026), October 2026 (communiqué reported October 25); ANSADE, ANSADE, Note mensuelle de l’Indice National des Prix à la Consommation (INPC), septembre 2026, September 2026
Mauritania's state financial debt is projected to reach 219.27bn MRU (€4.86bn) at the end of 2026, according to the debt annex to the draft 2027 finance law, as reported by news sites Madar and Points Chauds. Multilateral lenders account for 52.3% of the total and bilateral lenders for 35.9%. The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development is the largest single creditor, with 54.8bn MRU (€1.21bn), or about a quarter of the stock.
Analysis: The projection is 24.2bn MRU (€536mn), or 12.4%, above the 195.07bn MRU (€4.32bn) in the finance ministry's debt bulletin for June 30, by our calculation. The two documents may not use the same scope or exchange rate, and neither report explains the gap. The Arab Fund, the Saudi Fund for Development and the World Bank's IDA together hold about half the stock, so development lenders rather than bond markets set most of the terms. The annex gives no debt service for 2027, Points Chauds said. However, the draft budget projects interest of 4.90bn MRU (€109mn), according to Madar. The IMF mission's end-of-visit statement, expected around November 13, may give the fund's own view.
Source: Points Chauds, Points Chauds, 'Dette publique : la Mauritanie devra 219 milliards d'ouguiyas fin 2026…' (November 8, 2026), citing Madar and the debt annex to the draft 2027 finance law, December 31, 2026 (projection); Ministère des Finances, Mauritanie, Ministère des Finances, Direction de la Dette Publique, Bulletin statistique de la dette publique au titre du deuxième trimestre 2026, June 30, 2026
Mauritania's draft 2027 budget sets revenue from the European Union fisheries protocol at zero, down from 3.45bn MRU (€76mn) in the revised 2026 budget, according to the finance ministry's report on natural resource revenue. Fishing fines are projected to rise to 1.19bn MRU from 0.19bn MRU, and total fishing revenue to 10.10bn MRU (€224mn) from 10.00bn MRU, the report said.
Analysis: The forecast therefore does not rely on renewing the protocol. Instead, other fishing receipts would have to rise by about 54%, to 10.10bn MRU from 6.55bn MRU (€145mn) excluding EU money, by our calculation. Fines would grow more than sixfold. Meanwhile, royalties from state fish marketer SMCP and from vessels fishing under free licensing arrangements would also increase, the report indicates. This places the burden on enforcement and on non-EU fleets. The current protocol expires on November 14, and the Assembly votes on the 2027 budget on December 28, news site Madar reported.
Source: Ministère des Finances, Mauritanie, Ministère des Finances, Rapport de recettes fiscales et non fiscales que l'État prévoit de tirer de l'exploitation et de la vente des ressources naturelles du pays (Annexe PLFI 2027, octobre 2026; posted November 8, 2026), 2026 (LFR) and 2027 (draft budget); Ministère des Finances, Mauritanie, Ministère des Finances, Rapport annuel sur l'exécution des accords relatifs à l'exploitation des ressources naturelles (Annexe PLFI 2027, octobre 2026; posted November 8, 2026), 2027 (draft budget) and 2026 (LFR); AMI (state news agency), AMI home page exchange-rate box (BCM rates), read November 10, 2026, November 9, 2026
Mauritania's second Nouakchott emergency development program will cost about 115bn old ouguiyas, or 11.5bn MRU (€255mn), over 16 months, the economy minister said, according to newspaper Le Calame. President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani launched the program on November 5. It includes 83 kilometers of urban roads, five interchanges and 510 classrooms. The first program cost 69bn old ouguiyas, or 6.9bn MRU (€153mn), also over 16 months, the newspaper said.
Analysis: The second phase is two-thirds bigger than the first, by our calculation, and close to the 11.59bn MRU (€257mn) set out for it in the draft 2027 budget. Reports of the first phase's output differ, however. Le Calame gives 145.3 kilometers of roads and bypasses. Meanwhile, TRUST Magazine, republished by Cridem, gives 68 kilometers, and neither cites a completion report. Spread over 16 months, the new budget implies spending of about 719mn MRU (€15.9mn) a month, by our calculation, which matters to road builders and suppliers of cement, steel and electrical equipment. Utility SOMELEC tendered 41 Nouakchott substations under the program in August. However, no date has been published for the road and school contracts.
Source: Le Calame, Le Calame, 'Le ministre de l'Économie détaille le bilan du premier programme d'urgence de Nouakchott et les investissements prévus pour la seconde phase' (November 5, 2026), Second phase (16 months from November 2026) and First phase (16 months) and Second phase and First phase; Cridem (aggregator of Mauritanian press), TRUST Magazine, republished by Cridem, 'Nouakchott : 184 milliards MRO mobilisés pour le programme d'urgence de développement de la capitale' (November 5, 2026), First phase; Ministère des Finances, Mauritanie, Ministère des Finances, Projet de loi de finances pour l'année 2027 (Octobre 2026), exposé général des motifs and tax provisions, Phase II (from 2027); Société Mauritanienne d'Électricité (SOMELEC), SOMELEC tender notice No. 10-CMI-2026 (August 4, 2026), Tender issued August 4, 2026
Chart of the week
Mauritania consumer price inflation, % year on year, statistics agency ANSADE, September 2025–September 2026
Change in the national consumer price index (INPC) from the same month a year earlier, as published in statistics agency ANSADE's monthly note for September 2026. Inflation rose from 4.7% in March 2026 to 7.6% in April and reached 9.3% in September, against 1.5% a year earlier.. Source: ANSADE, ANSADE, Note mensuelle de l’Indice National des Prix à la Consommation (INPC), septembre 2026, September 2025 and October 2025 and November 2025 and December 2025 and January 2026 and February 2026 and March 2026 and April 2026 and May 2026 and June 2026 and July 2026 and August 2026 and September 2026.
Tender of the week
Land-tenure census in Rosso
Buyer
MOUDOUN decentralization and intermediate cities project
Scope
Census of land occupancy for land-titling purposes in Rosso; routine services; national open tender.
Value
Not published
Closes
Thursday, November 19, 2026
Alama Pro members get the link to the official notice for this and every other tender.
In Alama Pro this week
Deep dive: One Arab fund holds a quarter of Mauritania's 219bn MRU debt
12 stories with workings, from trade, public debt and the 2027 budget to fishing, gas, fuel prices, iron ore and mining taxes, Nouakchott public works, telecoms and tax breaks
Four key figures, from inflation and gas cargoes to Tasiast gold output and the policy rate, and every open tender in our records
