Mr. Salah Eddine Mezouar, Minister of Economy and Finance gave a presentation on August, 11th, 2011 before the government council Morocco`s economic situation for the first semester of the year 2011 as well as execution conditions of the 2011 Finance law in the end of June.
He stated that "the non agricultural sector has achieved a growth rate of more than 5.1% for the first semester of 2011".
The majority of activity sectors, he added, have registered a positive growth, mainly building construction and public works, which have witnessed this year a growth rebound, as well as the export sector, mainly those mostly affected by the 2009 world crisis.
Mr. Mezouar stated that exports have continued their upward trend with a 19.8% increase including Phosphate sales and its derivatives%. The minister also shed light on the impact of compensation fund which heavily weighs on the expenditure of the budget following the increase of energy and food products in the international markets.
For this, Mr. Mezouar decided an increase of the compensation fund charges of about MAD 26 billion with reference to the preliminary forecasts. He also congratulated the government for the positive performance that national economy has achieved and which develops resilience to face internal and external constraints.
Talking about some hypotheses which preceded the elaboration of the 2012 finance bill; namely, a growth rate oscillating between 4.7% and 5.2% (5 to 5.50% for the non agricultural sector), an inflation rate of 2% and a petrol barrel for $100, Mr. Mezouar highlighted the necessity to preserve the existing macroeconomic equilibrium and guarantee the development momentum that the country enjoys.
He also mentioned that the exceptional efforts deployed by the government, especially the salary increase, which resulted from the social dialogue. Such an increase estimated at MAD 95 billion in 2012 will have an impact on the wage bill, together with the charges of the compensation fund estimated to reach MAD 40 Billion by next year.