Rabat – Moroccan industrial manufacturing production, with the exception of oil refining, increased by 3.6 percent in 2018, according to the latest production index by the Moroccan High Commission for Planning Commission (HCP).
Compared to 2017 in the same period, industrial manufacturing output was booming in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The manufacturing industries that saw an increase in production include the food industry, up 4.9 percent; the chemical industry, up by 3.4 percent; clothes and fur manufacturing, up by 7.8 percent; automotive industry products, up by 10.8 percent; and other transportation equipment, up by 8.9 percent.
The print industry also rose by 12.3 percent and textile manufacturing by 2.3 percent; mining production rose by 0.4 percent; the extractive industry production by 0.4 percent; metallic minerals by 1.7 percent; and electric energy by 7.5 percent.
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In contrast, non-metallic mineral production decreased by 4.4 percent; cement production by 6.2 percent; metal production by 10.1 percent, pulp and paper by 7.4 percent; leather and footwear production by 27.3 percent; machinery equipment by 3.5 percent; and woodwork production by 4.3 percent.
With regards to the automotive industry, Morocco is playing a leading role in Africa. The country surpassed South Africa with 345,000 passenger vehicles in 2017 over South Africa’s 331,000.
Morocco is also becoming a key supplier for European auto factories, attracting several investors to build plants making car parts, including Nexteer, Gestamp, Ficosa, and Fiat subsidiary Magneti Marelli.
