Morocco dominates Africa’s baryte market in consumption, production, and exports

Morocco is the largest baryte consumer in Africa, using 420,000 tons, accounting for 67% of the continent’s total consumption, according to a new report by the AI-driven market intelligence platform IndexBox.

Morocco’s baryte consumption, a mineral primarily used in the oil and gas industry as a weighting agent in drilling fluids, exceeded that of Algeria, the second-largest consumer using 106k tons by more than fourfold. 

Over the period from 2013 to 2024, Morocco’s baryte consumption expanded at an average annual growth rate of +8.4%. 

This rate outpaced that of other African consumers, including Egypt, which experienced an average annual growth of +5.2%, consuming around 19K, and Algeria, with a more modest increase of +1.8% per year.

In 2024, Morocco led Africa’s baryte market in value, according to the same source, generating $46 million—nearly three times more than Algeria, the second-largest market at $17 million, followed by Egypt.

Between 2013 and 2024, the report mentioned that Morocco’s baryte market value grew at an average annual rate of 8.8%, outpacing Algeria’s 4.4% and Egypt’s 5.9%.

Morocco also recorded the highest baryte consumption per capita in Africa at 11 kg per person, significantly above the world average of 0.4 kg, with a 7.1% annual growth rate since 2013.

In terms of production, Morocco was the largest baryte producer in Africa, producing over 1.2 million tons, representing 94% of the total volume, and achieving an average annual growth rate of 1.2% over the same period.

Algeria trailed behind with a production of 39k tons, accounting for 2.9% of total production.

The kingdom also dominates export structures, resulting in 830k tons, which was approximately 94% of total exports in 2024, followed by Tunisia, 48k tons, generating a 5.4%

The report mentioned that Morocco experienced a relatively flat trend in baryte export volumes, while Tunisia showed positive growth at a rate of +11.3%.

The Kingdom remains Africa’s leading baryte exporter by value, according to the same source, generating $95 million and accounting for 90% of the continent’s total exports. Tunisia ranks second with $8.1 million, representing 7.6% of exports.