Morocco’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rebound to 4.5% in 2021 as the effects of drought and the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic are fading, said on Monday the head of the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in charge for Morocco, Roberto Cardarelli.
In 2020, the GDP is expected to contract by around 6 to 7%, depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the unemployment rate is expected to increase sharply, Carderelli said during a press conference on the presentation of the conclusions of his consultations with the Moroccan authorities, under Article IV of the IMF.
“The budget and external deficits are expected to rise, due to the fall in tax revenues and the decline in foreign exchange receipts from tourism, respectively,” noted Carderelli, saying that the resilience of transfers by Moroccans residing abroad and the decline in imports have limited Morocco’s external financing needs.
According to the IMF representative, international reserves remain well above their level of last year, notably thanks to the drawdown on the IMF’s precautionary and liquidity line last April (press release No. 20/138) and the intensification of efforts to mobilize external funding.
He added that the generous contributions by the public and private sectors to the Special Fund for the Pandemic Management have helped finance notably measures that have supported domestic demand and the most vulnerable social segments, recommending a gradual budget rebalancing process that should be undertaken with a solid economic recovery.
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