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