Moroccan garment exports drop 4.6% in 2013

07 Feb '14

1 min read

Garment exports from Morocco, a country in Maghreb region of North Africa, declined by 4.6 percent to 26.3 billion dirhams in 2013, compared to exports of 28.2 billion dirhams in 2012, data from the Office Des Changes showed.

The decrease in apparel exports was seen in both woven and knitted wear segments. It was due to the economic crisis in Europe and also owing to lack of industrial integration in the country, La Vie éco reported.

The exports of woven apparel from Morocco stood at 19.1 billion dirhams at the end of December 2013, showing a decrease of 393 million dirhams over exports made in 2012.

Similarly, in the knitwear segment, exports fell by 10.8 percent year-on-year to 7.2 billion dirhams in 2013.

At present, the share of Moroccan clothing in European garment imports is around 4 percent, which is below Turkey, which has a 10-12 percent share in the EU market.

Compared to Turkey, Moroccan apparel industry lacks well-structured upstream and downstream industrial integration, which is one of the drawbacks.

The apparel sector is one of the most important industries in Morocco, which employs nearly 175,000 people.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India