Morocco’s Aerospace Exports Grow by 21.9% in 2021

Rabat – Morocco aerospace industry exported a total volume of MAD 15.4 billion ($1.6 billion) at the end of 2021, up from MAD 12.7 billion ($1.3 billion) in 2020.

Morocco’s aerospace industry continues to grow, with a 21.9% year-on-year increase in the volume of exports, according to data from the ministry of trade and industry.

While the global aerospace industry contracted by 50% at the height of the COVID-19 related economic crises in 2020, Morocco’s aerospace industry contracted by 29%, losing 10% of jobs against a global rate of 40%, notes the US International Trade Administration.

Morocco’s aerospace industry is quite diversified. Morocco is home to affiliates representing 140 aerospace companies that manufacture finished aircrafts, provide maintenance, and build airport infrastructure among others, explain the same source.

Underpinning the growth in Morocco’s aerospace parts industry is a network of internationally certified subcontractors present in the local market.

Aeronautic-related business activities also include the engineering of parts, making Morocco a one-stop shop for aerospace parts, argues an expert cited by Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera.

As of 2019, the industry sustained 17,500 job positions, with a female labor participation of 40.6% well above the national average of 21.59%.

Morocco’s Industrial Acceleration Plan (PAI) 2014-2020 had produced an annual growth rate of 20% prior to the pandemic.

Specialized training centers have similarly boosted Morocco’s attractiveness as a go-to business destination in the aerospace industry. In 2021, the former economy and trade minister inaugurated a higher education institute specializing in the aerospace industry and logistics.

Morocco is also home to industrial zones focused exclusively on the aerospace industry. In 2020, Morocco’s aerospace industry ranked 36th globally and third in the Middle East and Africa region in an aerospace manufacturing attractiveness ranking produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers.