MOROCCO · TEXTILES
Key Facts
- What Textile and leather exports fell 5% in nine months to 32.2 billion dirhams (about US$3.3 billion).
- Trend The nine-month total has now fallen for three years in a row.
- Who Industry minister Ryad Mezzour gave the figures to the House of Representatives, the lower house.
- Next The ministry plans a new textile and leather strategy in 2027.
- Check The Office des Changes, Morocco’s foreign-exchange regulator, reports the same 5% fall.
Morocco’s textile and leather exports slipped again. The ministry says a new strategy is coming in 2027.
Morocco’s textile and leather exports fell 5% in the first nine months of 2026, to 32.2 billion Moroccan dirhams (about US$3.3 billion), according to ministry figures. Industry and trade minister Ryad Mezzour presented them on Tuesday 10 November 2026 to the Productive Sectors Committee, a panel of the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament.
A year earlier the same nine months brought 33.8 billion dirhams (US$3.5 billion), and the nine-month total has now fallen three years in a row. The Office des Changes, Morocco’s foreign-exchange regulator, reports the same 5% fall to end-September, at 32.15 billion dirhams.
What the Minister Said
Mezzour told the committee, while presenting his ministry’s 2027 budget, that competition is among the main causes of the decline. It also listed structural weaknesses: heavy reliance on European buyers, weak control of yarn and weaving, a subcontracting model that limits value added, and gaps in productivity, design and skills.
The ministry says the decline is not due to competition alone.
The Plan for 2027
The ministry intends to prepare a new strategy for textiles and leather in 2027. It aims to draw investment into early production stages such as yarn and weaving, to move firms from subcontracting to finished products, and to back Moroccan brands.
It also plans tighter checks that imported textiles meet applicable standards, and wider export sales in North America and northern Europe. Rising international standards on product traceability, conformity certificates and emissions are part of the reasoning, the ministry says.
What Is Not Known
The ministry’s figures and the regulator’s tally agree on a 5% fall, but no job losses or company closures for the textile sector have been reported. The committee minutes were not available to us.
What It Means for You
For US readers, the numbers show a textile exporter that leans on European buyers losing ground for a third year. The figures have no direct US link; our guide to how Morocco’s economy works and the latest jobless figures give the wider picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ryad Mezzour?
Morocco’s minister of industry and trade. He presented his ministry’s 2027 budget to the House of Representatives’ Productive Sectors Committee on Tuesday 10 November 2026.
How much did textile exports fall?
Textile and leather exports fell 5% in the first nine months of 2026, to 32.2 billion dirhams (about US$3.3 billion), from 33.8 billion (US$3.5 billion) a year earlier.
What does the ministry plan?
A new textile and leather strategy in 2027, with investment in yarn and weaving, a shift from subcontracting to finished products, tighter import checks and new export markets.
Why are exports falling?
Mezzour named competition among the main causes. The ministry also points to reliance on Europe, imported inputs and low value added.
Sources: ministry figures and remarks presented by Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, to the House of Representatives’ Productive Sectors Committee, 10 November 2026; Office des Changes trade bulletin to end-September 2026 as published in the national business press; dirham conversions at 9.75 per US$, the 9 November rate. The committee minutes were not accessed.
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