Morocco economic growth slows in 2024 first quarter: Reports

Morocco’s economy slowed during the first quarter of 2024, with GDP expanding by just 2.5%, down from 3.9% recorded in the same period last year, a new government report says.

Agriculture saw a significant contraction in the first quarter of 2024, with the volume of added value shrinking by 4.3%.

Morocco’s Higher Commission of Planning said in a report shared on Monday that “non-agricultural activities showed an increase of 3.2% and those of the agricultural sector a decrease of 5%.”

The deceleration was driven by contrasting performances across different sectors, with notable weaknesses in agriculture and manufacturing, HCP added.

Agriculture contraction

The primary sector, agriculture, saw a significant contraction in the first quarter of 2024, with the volume of added value shrinking by 4.3%.

Agricultural output took a 5% drop, reversing a 2.1% rise a year earlier. In contrast, the fishing industry rebounded, posting a 10% increase after falling by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, the secondary sector—industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction—showed resilience, posing a 3.6% increase in added value, up from a 0.4% decrease in the same quarter last year.

However, manufacturing growth slowed to 2.1% from 3%. The extraction industry surged by 17.7%, a significant turnaround from the previous 12.1% decline.

Utilities rebound

Both construction and utilities saw increases, with construction rising by 2.5% and utilities by 3%, respectively, reversing prior declines of 3%.

The growth rate of the tertiary sector, or the service sector, dropped to 3% from 6% in the previous year.

Key contributors to this deceleration included financial services, which grew by 3.9% compared to 7.3%, and transport and storage, which saw growth slump to 3.4% from 8.7%. Other services, such as education, health, and social services, also experienced slower growth.

The slowdown was mitigated by a strong increase in domestic demand, which rose by 3.6% compared to 0.3% in the same period last year, contributing 3.7 percentage points to overall economic growth.

Household consumption grew by 3%, up from 0.9%, while public consumption growth slowed to 3.9% from 4.5%.

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