(MENAFN) The World Bank’s vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, Inger Andersen, stated that in 2012, Morocco’s economic growth is expected to slow to nearly 3 percent, compared with 4.9 percent in 2011, reported Arab News.
Andersen attributed the projected decline to the country’s dependence on the euro zone for trade.
She added that the country’s budget gap in 2011 hit 6.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), driven by higher international commodity prices and rising subsidies bill, mainly on food.
On the other hand, Moroccan Finance Minister, Nizar Baraka, said that the better financial situation in 2012 would help the government reduce the budget shortfall to only 5 percent.
It is worth noting that during the current year; the cost of food in Morocco is relatively high, driven by an increase of 20 percent in petrol prices and hard drought that has badly affected agricultural production.
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