Moroccan economy projected to grow by 6.7% this year

The Moroccan economy is expected to grow by 6.7% in 2021, before settling at 2.9% in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023, according to Bank al-Maghrib.

Morocco's central bank issued a report following its last quarterly meeting for 2021 this Tuesday, December 21, announcing that "at the national level, the maintenance of fiscal and monetary stimulus and a very good agricultural campaign will make the economy record a rebound of 6.7% this year."

The statement added that "an 18.8% increase in agricultural added value, while 5.3% of which is from non-agricultural activities," are fueling this growth.

BAM notes that in the next two years, the pace of activity will remain "largely dependent on the evolution of the health crisis," and that it will rely on the overall domestic and international climate.

The domestic projections of BAM are eying a 2.9% consolidation of growth in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023.

The added value of non-agricultural activities is set to continue to improve at 3.2% in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023 respectively, assuming average cereal harvests will reach 75 MQx annually.

While BAM expects the added value for the agricultural sector would decline by 2.8% in 2022 and would increase by 2% in 2023.

When it comes to the labor market, the latest data on the third quarter of 2021 show a clear recovery with the creation of 642,000 jobs, and a net entry of 607,000 job seekers into the work market.

The activity rate has increased by 1.6 percentage points to 45.1%, and the unemployment rate has declined by 0.9 percentage points to 11.8%, as of this month.

As for external accounts, Bank Al-Maghrib has recorded a remarkable recovery during the current year, where it is expected to rise by 21.7%, largely supported by the rise in phosphate prices and car sales, despite difficulties faced in global supply chains.

On the other hand, imports are expected to grow by 22.9%, due to the rise in the energy bill, prices of raw materials, and purchases of finalized consumption products.

Following the issuing of the report, a press briefing was held by Abdellatif Jouahri, president of the national central bank, where he answered the press' most present questions on the state of the economic and finance sector for 2021 and discussed strategies behind the BAM's plans.