London, January 9, 2012 (MAP)
London, January 9, 2012 (MAP)
Morocco’s economy continued to perform strongly in the third quarter of 2011, with GDP growth slightly lower than in previous quarters but still strongly outpacing its European neighbours to the north, wrote the British think tank, Oxford Business Group, in an update about Morocco.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast further healthy expansion in 2012, saying that average GDP growth could reach as much as 6% in the medium term, OBG added.
The party that won most seats in Parliament following the November 25 elections, the Justice and Development Party (PJD), is targeting 7% growth, the Group went on to say, noting that the challenges for 2012 include reducing the Kingdom’s subsidy bill and fiscal deficit and keeping growth on track against the backdrop of the economic crisis in the EU.
The same source points to estimates issued by the The Moroccan High Planning Commission (HCP) saying that economic growth in the third quarter of 2011 stood at 4.1%, slightly below the first and second quarters when growth stood at 4.9% and 4.2%, respectively.
The fall in growth reflected a comparative slowdown in the non-agricultural economy, which the commission estimated to have fallen from an expansion of 4.7% in the first quarter to 4.2% in the second and third quarters, and in the mining and tourism industries in particular, the Group added.
Moroccan GDP growth in 2011, which the IMF expects to be among the region’s highest at 4.5-5%, was helped by plentiful rainfall that boosted the 2010-11 agricultural season, OBG said, pointing that Moroccan agriculture accounts for between 13% and 17% of GDP and remains highly dependent on rainfall.
The Moroccan Finance Ministry also expects GDP growth for 2011 as a whole to be roughly 5%, OBG reported.
