Morocco GDP growth up 4.7 percent
Rabat, 02 Jan – (ANA) - Morocco's economic growth reached 4.7 percent in the third quarter of 2011, up from the second but still below the full-year target after a slowdown led by shrinking mining and tourism activity, the country's planning authority said today.
Agricultural output rose 4.1 percent rise after a flat third quarter of 2010, and non-agricultural GDP rose 4.9 percent after a 4.6 percent increase in the third quarter of 2010, the High Planning Authority (HCP) said.
Hotel and restaurant activity dropped 2.6 percent, the authority said, after a 3.8 percent drop in the second quarter, which was its worst quarterly performance since the first quarter of 2009.
Tourism contributes close to 10 percent of Morocco's economy and directly employs 450,000 people.
The July-September period coincided with political turmoil in the region and economic uncertainties in the European Union. (AnA)
After growing by 4 percent to around $95 billion in 2010, Morocco's gross domestic product grew 5 percent during the first quarter of 2011 and 4.2 percent in the second, according to the central bank. (ANA)
FA/ANA/02 January 2012----------