Morocco's draft budget for 2019 is expected to shrink to 3.3 percent of GDP next year, down from 3.8 percent expected in 2018, a government statement said on Thursday.
Based on an average grain yield of 7 million tonnes, the economic growth is expected to reach 3.2 percent in 2019, down from 3.6 percent this year, the government said in a statement issued after its weekly budget was approved.
Agriculture accounts for 14.5 percent of the Moroccan economy. Rainfall this year contributed to the harvest of an extraordinary 10.3 million tonnes.
The government also plans to spend 17.67 billion dirhams on wheat, cooking gas and sugar, up 4.65 billion dirhams this year.
It will also increase spending on social services. The budget allocates $ 68 billion to the education sector in 2019, up 5.4 billion dirhams from 2018.
Health spending will also increase by 1.6 billion dirhams to 16.3 billion dirhams, while 750 million dirhams will be distributed to support social groups in need of assistance such as widows, orphans and the handicapped.
Companies with annual net profits of over 40 million dirhams would be subject to a 2.5 percent corporate tax on their net profits in 2019, the government said.
The government said investment spending would reach 195 billion dirhams in 2019, up 5 billion dirhams from the current year.
