Morocco’s Economy Shows Signs of Recovery Despite Drop in Expatriate Arrivals

"This dynamic is driven by a so far successful vaccination campaign as well as good weather conditions auguring a strengthening of agricultural value added," the note states, noting that the 2020-2021 agricultural season is progressing well.

In addition, the improvement is also noticeable in the value added of the industrial sector, going from -2.6% three months earlier to -1.6% currently, thanks to a 2.6% increase in activity in the food and tobacco industry and 9.6% in the chemical and parachimical industry. Moreover, the capacity utilization rate reached 71.5% in January and February. In the fourth quarter of the year, the value added of the extractive industries showed a 8.9% increase at the end of December, compared to 3% recorded in the same period of the previous year.

However, "there is a 79.8% drop in tourist arrivals, including a 92% drop for foreign tourists and 59% for Moroccans of the world. Overnight stays, for their part, fell by 82.6%, i.e. a 94% drop for non-residents and 52.3% for residents."

Regarding transport services, in the fourth quarter, the value added reached -18.6% at the end of December compared to -32.8% at the end of September 2020. Over the first three months of 2021, this decline should continue due to the restrictive measures still in place. On the monetary level, the liquidity needs of banks have decreased slightly, reaching 61.2 billion dirhams on average per week, compared to 63.3 billion dirhams in February, the central bank pointed out.