During the last quarter of 2022, economic growth in Morocco stood at 0.5%, affected by the decline in agricultural activities by around 15.1% and the increase in non-agricultural activities by 2.3%, against strong growth of 7.6% over the same period in 2021.
Since its start, the current agricultural campaign has been impacted by the delay in rainfall. But at the very beginning of 2023, weather conditions improved allowing farmers to catch up. Now, farmers are waiting for the April rains to avoid losing their harvest, given the current heat wave in our country.
According to data published by the High Commission for Planning (HCP), non-agricultural activities recorded growth of around 2.3%, compared to 6.6% in the same quarter of 2021, while exports were down. the engine of economic growth in a context characterized by a high inflation rate with the decline in the national economy’s financing requirement.
Last year, inflation recorded an average of 6.6%, compared to 1.4% in 2021. In February, inflation continued to break records reaching 10.1%, mainly driven by the wave without precedent of rising food prices.
According to the HCP, domestic demand, i.e. domestic consumption, contracted by 1.7% during the fourth quarter of 2022 instead of an increase of 11.6% during the same period in 2021, contributing negatively to national economic growth by around 1.9 points compared to 12.4 points a year ago.
In terms of goods and services currencies, exports and imports increased by 19.7%, with a contribution to growth of 6.5 points. Imports of goods and services increased by 9.1%, with a negative contribution to growth of 4.1 points, while the financing requirement of the national economy eased to 2.1%. GDP, underlines the HCP.
In addition, the HCP also unveiled the consumer price index (CPI), at metropolitan level, noting that it increased by 1.2% at the end of February 2023, compared to last month.
According to the February CPI briefing note, this upward trend is explained by a 3.4% rise in the food index and a 0.1% drop in the food index. non-food products.
In detail, the food price increases observed between January and February 2023 mainly concerned vegetables with 17.1%, meat with 3.1% and fruit with 5.9%, can be read in the note which underlines that this increase was mitigated by the fall in the prices of Bread and cereals and Fish and seafood with respectively 1.0% and 0.8%.
Regarding non-food products, the price drops between January and February 2023 mainly concerned fuels and lubricants with 1.9%, the “ Information processing equipment ” with 2.6% and the “ Pilgrimage fees » by official organization with 0.7%.
At the end of February 2023 and at the national level, the CPI increased by 1.7% month-on-month and 10.1% year-on-year, while the evolution of the CPI, for cities, was on an upward trend ranging from 1.2% in Laâyoune and Casablanca, then to 2.6% in Al Hoceima.