The Moroccan government said on Thursday that it has adopted a decree cancelling the value-added tax on agricultural inputs to help lower food prices.
Food inflation jumped to 20.1% in February, bringing general inflation to 10.1%, a level unmatched since the 1980s.
The measure is in line with efforts to "stem the sources of inflation and higher prices both for farm produce and for agrifood products," Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said in a statement after the cabinet’s weekly meeting.
Morocco has been importing beef cattle from Brazil after it lifted import duty to reduce meat prices.
The country has also restricted tomato exports to Africa and Europe to ensure supply of the domestic market.
The World Bank in February said Morocco’s economy came under ''mounting pressure'' from overlapping supply shocks, a severe drought and a surge in commodity prices that have fed inflation. This affected the economy's strong post-COVID-19 rebound seen last year.
The bank however projected that Morocco’s economic growth was expected to accelerate to 3.1% this year due to a rebound of the primary sector.
The country had adopted a policy package that included general subsidies on staples and maintained pre-existing regulated prices.
Despite these measures modest and vulnerable households still suffered the most from the impact of rising food and other prices due to inflation, according to the World Bank.
