Morocco's Inflation Rate At Highest Level Since 2008
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Loading... - Luna Becerra
- 28 Apr 2022
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Morocco’s inflation is at a record high, averaging 5.3% at the end of March - - the highest since the 2008 financial crisis.
The dramatic rise in inflation is driven by a spike in food prices, with non-fresh food inflation averaging 6.4% in March, according to data from Morocco’s Higher Commission for Planning (HCP), a state data institution.
Rising grain and vegetable oil have especially contributed to the inflation spike over the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, the HCP report indicates.
Non-food prices witnessed a 2.5% rise in Q1 of 2022, compared to the same period a year ago, amid the global supply chain disruptions, the report said.
HCP projected that customer spending in the country would have significantly slowed down over the same period, progressing at a quarterly rise of 0.8%.
The decline in agriculture production from this year’s severe drought would have especially negatively affected the purchasing power of many Moroccan households, the report notes.
The six-month drought at the beginning of this year’s agriculture season caused agriculture’s added value to Morocco’s national economy to shrink by 12% year on year.
Rainfall dropped by 65% during this year’s agriculture season compared to last year, triggering a 21% five-year average decline in the surface of agricultural land for Autumn and Winter crops, especially grain production, the HCP said.
The yield of other crops is projected to fall given the lack of water reserves that could substitute rainfall. Morocco’s dams were only 33% full at the end of March, against 51% last month, the HCP report indicates.
HCP’s projection for Q2 of 2022
The global economy’s growth prospects in the second quarter of 2022 remain uncertain as it hinges on the development of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the HCP projects.
Soaring food and energy prices will likely drive inflation even higher in the second quarter of 2022, slowing down economic growth in developed countries.
In the light of these developments, external demand for Moroccan goods will likely grow at a quarterly average of 3.1%, against 20.7% a year before, the HCP report said. Read More...
