Morocco expects economic growth at 3.4% in Q1 2023

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Morocco’s economic growth is likely to hit 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023, Morroco World News reported, citing data from Higher Commission for Planning (HCP).

After the sharp decline in growth in 2022, Morocco’s economy is expected to show moderate recovery, the commission said, attributing the growth to post-Covid economic recovery and easing international economic disruptions.

In an outlook report, the commission said the improved economic prospects are primarily supported by the recovery in agriculture, which will grow 6.7 percent amid favourable weather conditions.

However, it added that non-agricultural activities will likely decrease to three percent in the first quarter of 2023.

The country’s central bank has adopted a tighter monetary policy, further aggravating the domestic demand downturn. 

Domestic demand, which tracks expenditures from households, investors, and government, grew by a mere 4.3 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022, half the growth rate recorded in 2021.

Expenditures from Moroccan households have significantly plummeted over the past year, sliding from a 6.4 percent growth rate at the end of the third quarter of 2021 to only 2.4 percent a year later.