Quarantine in Morocco Causes the Loss of 6% of its GDP

  • Rabat, Morocco
  • 20 May 2020
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Moroccan Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform, Mohamed Benchaâboun, confirmed that the first months of home quarantine and the health emergency, cost Morocco a 6% of GDP loss, i.e. a loss of $100 million per day, which is a total of $6 billion within two months.

Benchaâboun considered that those losses, which amounted to 6 billion dollars, would have been greater if the aid had not been provided to families through the Corona pandemic control fund.

The Cabinet approved the extension of the validity of the state of health emergency until June 10, a measure adopted by Morocco since March 20.

Given the new extension of the quarantine and health emergencies, which takes effect from May 21, the losses will reach $8 billion.

He noted that most of the sectors linked to global value chains declined in the first four months of this year, noting that exports declined 61.5%, imports 37.6%, while tourism revenues fell by 60% in April, and expatriate remittances decreased by 11% in 4 months, a percentage decline which reached 30% in April.

The decline in the sectors whose exports declined, especially in the automotive, aviation, electronics, textile and apparel sectors, ranged between 81% and 96% in April.

Benchaâboun stressed that the economic crisis caused by the Corona virus will be reflected in the revenues of the public treasury of the Kingdom, as it incurs a loss of up to $50 million per day in light of the quarantine.

Source (New Arab newspaper, Edited)