Gulf Today
Morocco expects economic growth of 4.5 per cent in 2017, up from less than 2 per cent in 2016 after the worst drought in decades, according to a government statement about the draft budget.
Agriculture accounts for about 15 per cent of Morocco’s economy and is the biggest employer, accounting for nearly 35 per cent its workforce. The cereal harvest in 2016 fell 70 per cent to 3.35 million tonnes, down from 2015’s record 11 million tonnes.
The draft sees a budget deficit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product, down from 3.5 per cent in 2016, as the country continues to repair its public finances after huge deficits in 2012.
Morocco has done more than most North African countries to make reforms required by international lenders to curb deficits, such as ending fuel subsidies and freezing public sector hiring. The government still controls wheat and cooking gas prices.
Most recently, the government pushed through a pension system reform that raised the retirement age and increased worker pension contributions.
The draft budget statement issued after a weekly cabinet meeting said the finance ministry sees inflation at 1.7 per cent in 2017, while it expects public investments to reach 62 billion dirhams ($6.37 billion) and 190 billion dirhams ($19.57 billion) including state-run company investments.
Public investments include 8.9 billion dirhams in supporting farming, 3.7 billion in the industrial sector, 11.7 billion in renewable energies and 20 billion in building ports, it said.
