Morocco’s national economy experienced a growth rate of 2.4% in the second quarter of 2024, slightly below the previous year’s forecast of 2.5%. This slowdown was primarily attributed to a significant downturn in the agricultural sector, although robust domestic demand and industrial performance provided some offset.
Key points include:
– Non-agricultural sectors showed resilience, expanding by 3.2% year-over-year, largely due to notable growth in construction and extractive industries.
– The agricultural sector faced a 4.5% contraction, worsened by a 14.7% drop in fishing, which negatively impacted overall economic growth.
– Despite challenges, Morocco’s economy is balancing strong internal consumption with sluggish export performance and an increasing trade deficit.
– The primary sector—which includes agriculture, fishing, forestry, and mining—declined by 5%. In contrast, the secondary sector, encompassing manufacturing and construction, rebounded with a growth of 3.8%, improving from a 2.4% contraction the previous year.
– The extractive industry surged by an impressive 23.6%, marking a significant recovery from a 9.6% decline last year, driven by rising commodity prices and global demand.
– Construction also saw a healthy increase of 3.6%, bouncing back from a year of losses, while manufacturing industries grew by 2.9%.
– However, the utilities sector faced challenges, with value-added declining by 6.3%, reversing last year’s slight gain.
– Growth in the tertiary sector, which includes services, slowed to 3.1%, down from 5% in the same period last year, with hospitality and food services seeing a notable slowdown, expanding by just 9.3% compared to 32.8% growth the prior year.
– Transportation and warehousing experienced reduced growth as well, slowing to 5.1% from 6.9% last year, while financial services and insurance showed mere growth of 0.9%, down from 3.1% in 2023.
– On a more positive note, the public administration sector and vehicle trade contributed positively to the economy, posting growth of 3.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
In summary, while Morocco’s economy faces headwinds from the agricultural sector, non-agricultural growth continues to provide a degree of stability, highlighting the complexities of the current economic landscape.
