Morocco Expects Growth Rate to Decrease to 3.2% in 2018

The Moroccan government released its GDP growth forecasts for 2018, which expects the economy to grow by 3.2% down from 4.8% this year.

The Head of the Government office said in a statement that the forecasted rate is higher than the one announced by the government’s statistics agency (HCP), which said that Morocco’s economy will only grow by 2.9% in 2018.

The Government is also planning to limit its budget deficit to 3% of GDP, down from 3.5% in 2017.

The outlook for the 2017 crop year bodes well for Morocco with a total cereal output reaching 102 million quintals, i.e. a 203% rise compared to last year (33.5 million quintals).

Last year late rainfall made the country double its wheat imports to meet demand, as Morocco’s wheat production remains vulnerable to unpredictable weather patterns.

Due to its significant contribution to the country’s GDP (around 15 percent in recent years), the agriculture sector largely determines the growth level of the whole economy. The large fluctuations in output are also reflected in fluctuation in agricultural imports of commodities such as animal feed, wheat, and oil-seeds.