IMF commends Morocco for mitigating economic impact of external shocks

The IMF highlighted on Jan 24 the “very strong policy response” that Morocco took to mitigate the social and economic impact of the recent negative shocks fueled by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine.

At the end of its Article IV consultations, the IMF said Morocco’s economy will bounce back to 4% in 2023 thanks to an improvement in agricultural output, up from 1.4% last year.

As the conditions fueling inflation in commodities market dissipate, Morocco’s headline inflation is expected to drop from 6.5% in 2022 to 4% in 2023, although the forecast remains subject to strong uncertainties, it said.

The IMF also “commended the authorities’ strong commitment to implement comprehensive structural reforms. The reform of the social protection, health, and education systems would improve fairness and quality of access, better target spending, and sustain human capital in the long run.”

It noted an improvement in tax revenue that helped cut the budget deficit.

The IMF praised the “completion of the Action Plan designed with FATF, which should support progress toward exiting the FATF grey list.”