MOROCCO – Morocco’s economy grew by 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in the previous year, driven by agricultural production.
The increase contrasts with last year’s decline of 5.1% during the same period, according to Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP).
HCP indicated that this ‘bounce back’ in Morocco’s economic activity is the result of an increase of 18.9% in agricultural production and 5.6% in non-agriculture production.
In the context of rising inflation and a need for financing, Morocco’s economy achieved its economic growth thanks to strong domestic demand.
The added value of the primary sector, which includes agriculture and fishing, saw an increase of 20.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021 after a 9% drop in the same period of last year, noted the same source.
This result is due to the surge in agricultural activity, instead of a 10.7% decrease a year earlier, as well as an increase of 40.7% in fishing instead of last year’s 11.5% increase.
The added value of the secondary sector increased by 5.2%, reflecting improvements in the value of electricity and water by 6.9%, construction, and public work by 6.4%, processing industries by 5.5%, and the extractive industry by 2%.
Meanwhile, the added value of the tertiary sector increased by 5.1% after a decline of 7.1% during the fourth quarter of 2020.
This year’s improvements are driven by the hospitality and tourism sectors (+44%), trade (+11.8%), and transport activities (+5.5%).
The increase is also attributed to the good indicators recorded in public services provided by the General Public Administration and Social Security (+5.4%), education services, health, and social action (+3%), while services provided to households and businesses increased (+2.4%).
The same sector marked the decline in postal and telecommunication services (-2%) and insurance and financial services (-1.9%).
The COVID-19 crisis has affected the global economy, including that of Morocco. The aforementioned positive indicators mark a noticeable post-pandemic economic recovery.
The North African country will get an additional investment of more than MAD 9.6 billion (US$1 billion) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support its economic recovery.
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