Morocco Faces Steepest Economic Decline in 25 Years Amid Pandemic and Drought
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Morocco is preparing to experience in 2020 its worst recession since 1996, according to the central bank of the kingdom.
According to Bank Al-Maghrib, Moroccan growth will experience a 5.2% drop. This is due to the combined effects of drought and health restrictions. According to the institution, the economy will slowly recover before rebounding to 4.2% in 2021. As agriculture is the main sector contributing to GDP, ahead of tourism and industry, Morocco had recorded a growth rate of 1.5% in 2019, compared to 2.7% in 2018, due to poor rainfall.
With the gradual lifting of confinement, the Moroccan central bank, based on a survey by the High Commission for Planning (HCP), forecasts the destruction of nearly 726,000 jobs, or 20% of the workforce of organized companies. As for public accounts, the BAM said it expects a budget deficit of 7.6% of GDP in 2020, compared to 4.1% last year, according to the same source. Following these statistics, the bank has lowered the key rate by 50 basis points, bringing it to 1.5%.
