Abdellatif Jouahri, governor of Bank Al-Maghrib (Central Bank), presented, Saturday, the Bank’s yearly report on the country’s economic outlook to King Mohammed VI, reporting a growth rate of 1.3% in 2022 versus 8% in 2021.
Despite the global slowdown and the long dry spell, Jouahri noted that measures taken by the state to shield households and businesses from inflationary trends have yielded results, with the budget deficit recovering to 5.2% of GDP.
For foreign trade, the momentum observed in 2021 continued with a 30.1% increase in exports, driven by noticeable performance of the world crafts of Morocco and the phosphate and derivatives sector.
Travel receipts hit a new high of 93.6 bln MAD against 78.7 bln in 2019, and remittances poured in, keeping the current account deficit at 3.5% of GDP.
The official reserve assets of Bank Al-Maghrib have climbed by 2.1% to 337.6 bln MAD, covering 5 months and 13 days of goods and services’ imports.
In 2022, Morocco suffered inflationary pressures, hitting 6.6% in 2022, its highest level since 1992. In response, Bank Al-Maghrib tightened monetary policy in order to restore inflation to price stability objective, and raised its key rate by 50 basis points twice in September and December.
The bank injected enough liquidity, and continued with the very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs) program.
Jouahri underlined the need to broaden social protection and revamp education, as the public sector’s reform coupled with the private sector’s mobilization give optimism for growth and employment.
External shocks have revealed, since 2020, Morocco’s economic limitations and vulnerabilities, while also showing the country’s resilience through the diversification of economy and reforms.