After an acceleration of 4% noted in 2017, the growth outlook for the Moroccan economy for 2018 should reach 3.3%, before accelerating to 3.5% in 2019, according to the new projections of the Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM).
According to these estimates published by the Central Bank, “at the national level, growth would have accelerated to 4% in 2017, driven by a rebound of 14.8% of agricultural value added, while the growth of non-agricultural activities would have been limited to 2.7%.
For this current year, the BAM is banking on an estimate of cereal production around 80 million quintals and an increase in agricultural value added of 2.3%, while non-agricultural activities would continue their recovery with a rate of 3%. , 2%, which would bring overall growth to 3.3%, against 3% announced last December. Forecasts based on rainfall data and the vegetation cover situation, as of March 10.
Still under forecast, growth should reach 3.5% in 2019, with an improvement in agricultural value added of 1.8% under the assumption of a cereal production of 70 million quintals, and an increase of non-agricultural activities of 3.6%.
Bank Al-Maghrib warns that in the medium term, inflation will reach 1.8% in 2018 (after 0.7% in 2017), driven in particular by the increase in regulated tariffs, and fall to 1.5% in 2019 Underlying inflation is expected to be 1.4% in 2018 and 1.9% in 2019 as a result of the consolidation of domestic demand and rising imported inflation.
