As many as 45 per cent of Moroccan families had to borrow in order to meet their needs during the first quarter of 2023, according to a report issued, Thursday, by the High Commission for Planning of Morocco.
The report indicated that 51.2 per cent of families consider that their income covers their spending, while 45 per cent of families said they resort to debt in order to meet their spending needs.
The Moroccan markets witnessed a rapid increase in commodity prices during the current year, coupled with increases in the prices of primary and food commodities globally and the repercussions of the drought in the country.
According to the report, 85.3 per cent of Moroccan families said their standard of living had deteriorated during the previous 12 months, while 79 per cent of families in the first quarter of 2023 found that “time is not appropriate to purchase goods”.
It pointed out that 98.7 per cent of families felt the increase in food prices during the past 12 months.
Last March, the Moroccan Central Bank raised the interest rate by 50 basis points to 3 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent, in an attempt to halt high inflation resulting from the repercussions of the war in Ukraine. The annual inflation rate in Morocco accelerated to 10.1 per cent last February, compared to 8.9 per cent in January.
Montather Rassoul