Rabat – Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), has announced that manufacturers in the country are optimistic and anticipate an increase in sales for the first quarter of 2022.
Assessing a survey of data it collected throughout December 2021, BAM stressed that “for the next three months, companies expect a stagnation in production and an increase in sales.”
Meanwhile, 24% of businesses indicated that they cannot forecast the future of their production while 36% said they cannot predict sales improvement for the coming three months.
“The Production Capacity Utilization Rate (TUC) would have stood at 73% after 72% the previous month,” Morocco’s central bank noted.
BAM reports that production and sales have increased in the fields of chemistry and para-chemistry, both domestically and abroad, but one in five companies in the sector reported not being able to perceive their future development.
In the mechanical and metallurgical industries, sales have increased abroad, whereas sales in the local market declined in the same period.
Agri-food companies recorded stagnation. Meanwhile, 42% of companies in the food industry said the future evolution of production and sales for the first quarter is still blurry.
In the textiles and leather sector, companies reported a decline in sales, but expect an improvement in production and sales in the coming months.
Production in the electrical and electronic companies has increased with the TUC reaching 81%. Similarly, sales have increased in the local and foreign markets.
For the next three months, electrical and electronic companies anticipate a drop in production and sales.
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