Morocco’s economy contracted by 14.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, compared to a 0.1-percent growth in the first quarter, the state planning agency said Wednesday.
Hit by a three-month-long COVID-19 lockdown, this poor performance is expected to continue into the third quarter as the pandemic is still spreading with a daily average of 2,000 new cases in Morocco.
Non-agricultural activities and agricultural sector shrank by 15.5 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, said the Higher Planning Commission (HCP).
The value-added of the secondary sector registered a sharp decline of 17.3 percent in growth in the second quarter, while the tertiary sector recorded a decline of 14.9 percent, HCP added.
Morocco’s central bank has expected the North African country’s GDP to contract by 6.3 percent in 2020 because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morocco announced on Wednesday 2,470 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally in the country since March 2 to 123,653.
