• GDP: US$50.1 billion (2004).
• Main exports: Clothing, fish, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilisers, petroleum products, fruit and vegetables.
• Main imports: Crude petroleum, textile fabric, telecommunications and equipment, wheat, gas and electricity, transistors and plastics.
• Main trade partners: Spain, France, USA and UK.

Agriculture employs one-fifth of the working population, the principal crops being cereals, vegetables and citrus fruits (of which Morocco is one of the world’s largest exporters), and accounts for about 20 per cent of GDP. Livestock farming produces enough meat to fulfil domestic needs. Fishing is vital to both the domestic and export markets, as well as for the revenue accruing from the sale of licences allowing foreign fleets to fish in Moroccan territorial waters. Mining is the country’s principal industry. Morocco is the world’s largest exporter of phosphate rock, both in raw and processed form (such as fertilisers), and this is the principal source of export revenue. It has substantial other mineral assets including iron ore, coal, lead, zinc, cobalt, copper, silver and manganese. Morocco has small reserves of oil and gas, but must import the bulk of its needs. The main components of the manufacturing sector are food processing, textiles and the production of leather goods. In the service sector, tourism has grown rapidly and is now worth almost US$2 billion annually. The tourism industry has benefited from Morocco having one of the best infrastructures on the African continent; this is also an important consideration for foreign investors.
Remittances from Moroccan workers abroad (mostly in Europe) are another major source of revenue. During the last 10 years, the government has introduced a series of IMF-sponsored reforms, including trade liberalisation and public expenditure cuts in exchange for successive assistance programmes. This has reduced the size of the public sector and contributed towards easing Morocco’s huge foreign debt but at the cost of increased unemployment. Almost half the workforce are officially unemployed. A trade agreement with the EU was signed in 1995 under which all tariff barriers will be removed by 2012. Morocco is also part of a planned Free Trade Zone (including Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt) which will offer preferential access to EU markets. The Moroccan government formed a free trade agreement with the US in 2004. Finally, Morocco is now the largest single recipient of aid from the EU. Morocco is also a member of the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and a founder member of the Union of the Arab Maghreb. In 2004, GDP growth reached 3.5 per cent.

Businesspeople should be of a smart appearance, although a suit is not necessary in very hot weather. Appointments should be made in advance. Negotiations often involve a great deal of bargaining and a visitor should expect to deal with a number of people. Office hours: Government offices Mon-Thurs 0830-1200, 1430-1830 and Fri 0830-1100 and 1500-1830. Commercial offices Mon-Thurs 0830-1200, 1430-1830 and Fri 0830-1100 and 1500-1830.

The Pullman Conference Centre in Marrakech provides meeting facilities for up to 5000 people. Additional facilities can be found at the Palais des Congrès. Further information and a special brochure on conferences and conventions, Morocco, A Feast for the Senses, can be obtained from the Moroccan National Tourist Office (see Top Things To Do).

Fédération des Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie du Maroc
6 rue d’Erfoud, BP 218, Hassan-Rabat, Morocco
Tel: (37) 767 881 or 051.
E-mail: fccism@ccis.ma