Morocco's economy is expected to grow by 2.9 percent in 2019 – inflation eased to 1.2 percent in 2019 from 1.7 percent last year.
Planning Agency Chief Ahmed Lahlimi Alami said Wednesday in Casablanca that the growth of the Moroccan economy in 2019 will benefit from the internal demand while the foreign demand contribution remains negative with slight progress.
He added that the internal demand will drop from 3.6 percent in 2018 to 3.4 percent to 2019 due to a slump of the growth in forming fixed capital from 3.2 percent in 2018 to 2.6 percent in 2019 – further, the household final consumption would increase 3.5 percent in 2019 instead of 3.4 percent in 2018.
Alami continued that Moroccan exports are forecast to rise 5.9 percent in 2019 instead of 4.9 percent in 2018, at a time when imports’ are expected to grow around 6.2 percent in 2019 instead of 6.4 percent in 2018.
He called on the government to maintain investment effort that Morocco witnessed in the past years, noting that it rose to approximately 33 percent of the GDP.
Growing debts in Morocco result from the increasing gap between national saving and investment, Alami added. Investment reached 32 percent of the GDP while saving rate didn’t exceed 28 percent. This compelled Morocco to rely on debts to fund the shortage.
Companies represent 50 percent of national savings, households 35 percent and migrants 12 percent. Regarding households, he clarified that their contribution in national savings is linked to income. The Moroccan household income level is weak and is slowing down in which its growth average dropped from 6.1 percent between 2004-2012 to 3.5 percent between 2012-2017.
