Morocco’s Agri-Food Sector Poised for Strategic Growth

With significant growth potential, the agri-food sector contributes 7% to the national GDP and 23% to the industrial GDP. Consequently, the national economy is counting on the dynamism of this sector, alongside other branches of activity, to boost Morocco’s economic growth in the coming years.

At the heart of the economic system, the agri-food sector encompasses all activities related to the processing of agricultural and fishery raw materials. Occupying a strategic position in the national economic apparatus, it has posted average growth of around 6% per year for almost 10 years, according to the report by the Moroccan Institute for Strategic Intelligence (IMIS) entitled “Agri-food industry: Morocco, future regional champion?”.

Contributing approximately 7% to the national GDP and 23% to the industrial GDP, the Moroccan economy relies on the dynamism of this sector, alongside other industries such as automotive and phosphate and its derivatives, to boost national economic growth. This growth has declined from 5% between 2000 and 2009 to 3% between 2010 and 2023, a trend exacerbated by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures in Morocco.

According to the 2025 Finance Bill, forecasts predict growth of 4.6%, compared to 3.3% in 2024. The agri-food sector in Morocco is highly dependent on agricultural performance and the prices of inputs that supply it with raw materials. However, it is characterized by significant growth potential and represents nearly a third of the industrial sector.

Comprising 2,000 companies, it employs 206,477 people, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade provided by the CNSS (National Social Security Fund) in 2024, representing 25% of the total industrial workforce in Morocco.

Driving GDP, jobs, and industrial expansion, the sector seeks greater competitiveness amid rising costs and new strategic reforms in Morocco

The sector has benefited from various development plans, starting with sectoral strategies, such as the Industrial Acceleration Plan, the Green Morocco Plan and the Generation Green 2020-2030 strategy, through their variations.

Other roadmaps should be implemented, including the new industrial strategy, following the establishment of the import substitution policy and the new sector program contract. It is imperative for the sector to solidify its growth by improving its competitiveness and its export offerings.

It must also strengthen its industrial integration, hence the need for ongoing support through investment incentives. Meanwhile, the sector, operating in a free and competitive environment, continues to be affected by upstream production costs, putting significant pressure on its profit margins. The objective now is to reach a new stage of transformation following FENAGRI’s evaluation of the 2017-2021 program contract for the development of the agri-food industries in Morocco.

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(Featured image by Adrian Infernus via Unsplash)

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First published in LES ECO.ma. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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