Despite the slight positive change, industrial activities remain lower than what was reported last year.
Rabat – The central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, said Morocco’s production and sales in the industrial sector improved in October in all branches.
Bank Al-Maghrib shared a forecast cited by Morocco’s state media, saying companies’ activities were lower compared to a year earlier due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The bank said the capacity utilization rate (TUC) stood at 72% in October after recording 70% in September.
The results are part of a survey the bank carried out between November 2 and 26, with a representative sample comprising neary 400 industrial companies.
The survey shows an increase in production and sales affecting all branches of activity.
With regard to overall orders, the bank said that they saw an increase in all branches with the exception of “electrical and electronic,” where they rather dropped.
For the next three months, Bank Al-Maghrib forecasts that if the companies’ executives generally anticipate an increase in production and a stagnation in sales, uncertainty will continue to prevail.
Approximately 33% of the companies surveyed declared that they have no visibility regarding the future development of production, and 44% for sales.
In July, Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) said that more than half of Moroccan businesses will reach their normal activity level before the end of 2021.The forecast said that 56% of Moroccan businesses predicted they could reach their pre-COVID-19 level of activity in less than six months. About 44% estimated that they would need at least one year to recover.
The rate ranges from 50% for businesses in the field of trade to 66% for companies operating in industry.
The HCP carried out interviews with over 4,000 businesses.
The study shows that more than four businesses out of five (83.4%) suspended their activity during the lockdown period due to COVID-19.
Approximately 52.4% of companies partially suspended their activity, 29.6% suspended it completely but temporarily, and 1.3% suspended it indefinitely.
