Morocco's economy grows 4.8 pct in Q1 from a year ago

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's economy grew 4.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous three months as agriculture recovered after bad weather, the country's planning agency said on Tuesday.

Growth was much faster than a 2.8 percent annual expansion in the final quarter of last year and the agency forecast the economy would expand by 5.8 percent in the current quarter from a year earlier.

The agency, which has forecast that Morocco's economy will expand 5.5 percent this year, said it expects cereals production of more than 7.0 million tonnes in 2013, up from 5.1 million last year when it was depressed by drought.

"The agriculture (sector activity) increased 16.4 percent in the first three month of 2013, which would push up GDP growth to 4.8 percent although the non-agricultural sector slowed by 3.3 percent from 4.4 percent last year," the planning agency said in a statement.

The government has announced it will cut investment spending this year by 15 billion dirhams, as pressures on state finances have increased.

The budget deficit reached 22.9 billion dirhams, or 2.2 percent of GDP, in the first quarter, the finance ministry said on Monday as tax receipts fell by 5.7 pct to 46.25 billion dirhams, below a target of 50 billion in the 2013 national budget.

Morocco is considering how to reform its costly system of food and energy subsidies.

Subsidies burned up more than 12 billion dirhams in the first quarter and will increase spending on subsidies to 66 billion dirhams this year, from 53 billion in 2012, if there is no reform, according to finance ministry data.

Public spending in the first quarter increased by 14.7 pct to 78.8 billion dirhams.

Morocco's trade deficit fell 5.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 44.79 billion dirhams as imports slowed.

Tourism receipts fell 1.6 percent, while remittances from the 3 million Moroccans living abroad dropped 3.8 percent.

However, foreign direct investment jumped 43.9 percent to 10.58 billion dirhams as Moroccan holding company SNI sold its interests in a dairy and a biscuit company to foreign firms for about $900 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moroccos-economy-grows-4-8-pct-q1-ago-123413645--business.html

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