Latest news with #MarocDiplomatique
Fashion United
29-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
When Asia accelerates in textiles, Morocco falters
The Moroccan textile industry, long a spearhead of the national manufacturing sector, is now showing substantial signs of decline. Despite the post-Covid recovery, clothing exports are down, undermined by the rise of Asian low-cost leaders, geographical dependence on a few markets, and outdated production facilities. Moroccan exports witness declining trend According to La Nouvelle Tribune, the first five months of 2025 confirmed the downward trend in the Moroccan textile and clothing sector. Ready-to-wear exports fell by 2.1 percent, reaching 12.9 billion dirhams (approximately 1.29 billion dollars). Knitwear saw a 3.1 percent drop, to 3.64 billion dirhams. These figures extend a stagnation that began in 2024, despite the rebound in the global economy. As Maroc Diplomatique points out, the meteoric rise of Asian platforms such as Shein and Temu is upsetting the balance of the European market. By flooding distribution channels with very low-priced products, these players are capturing an increasingly price-conscious clientele. 'The European market has changed considerably,' observes Jean-François Limantour, president of the European network Cedith. Morocco, meanwhile, remains tied to a mid-range production model inherited from the 1990s. This positioning is now weakened by the rise of ultra-competitive production strategies in Southeast Asia. Although Moroccan exports to the European Union grew by 4.5 percent over the period, they remain well below the average growth of the European market, estimated at +11.4 percent. As a result, Morocco's share of EU textile imports has collapsed, from 4.5 percent in 2005 to only 2.35 percent in May 2025, according to La Nouvelle Tribune. Turkey and Tunisia, also facing the rise of Asia, have managed to limit the damage thanks to a faster diversification of their offer and their markets. In comparison, the Moroccan positioning seems frozen, unresponsive to the warning signs of an industry undergoing a complete redefinition. Factors affecting the Moroccan exports Another structural weakness is the geographical concentration of exports. According to Maroc Diplomatique, nearly 90 percent of Moroccan sales abroad are directed exclusively to France and Spain. This dependence makes the sector particularly vulnerable to slowdowns in these two economies. 'Italy, Switzerland and Austria represent interesting growth drivers, provided that their needs are better understood,' analyses Limantour. On the other hand, conquering the sub-Saharan market is not envisaged in the short term, due to a lack of sufficient purchasing power. Faced with this situation, several avenues for recovery are being considered. Limantour advocates a profound change of course: 'Morocco must move away from the basic subcontracting model and focus on innovation, sustainability and moving upmarket.' He identifies five levers for action: digitalisation; artificial intelligence; the development of technical clothing (sports, health, safety); compliance with environmental standards; and the reform of trade agreements with the EU, where Asian competitors still benefit from more advantageous customs treatment. Beyond the economic indicators, the issue at stake is employment. Textiles still represent one of the largest reservoirs of industrial jobs in Morocco. Any lasting decline could destabilise large employment pools, particularly in the northern and Casablanca regions. 'If Morocco does not change course, it risks losing its Euro-Mediterranean foothold in the textile value chain,' warns Limantour. The sector must now either cling to a model that is most certainly outdated or take the turn towards a genuine industrial transformation. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Morocco World
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Morocco World
Fact Check: Tesla Not Building Factory in Morocco
Doha – What started as an April 1st prank has snowballed into widespread misinformation across Moroccan media outlets and Tesla owners' social media groups, claiming Tesla would build its first African factory in Morocco. 'There has been absolutely no official announcement from Tesla, no published information, nor any sources close to the matter that could confirm such news,' French technology news outlet Numerama reported on Thursday. Multiple Moroccan media outlets and social media channels circulated claims using titles such as 'It's now official,' reporting that Tesla would invest $5 billion in a 300-hectare facility in Kenitra's free zone near Tangier Med port. These reports asserted the facility would produce 400,000 vehicles annually, including the Model Y and a new $25,000 compact car for emerging markets. 'It is unthinkable to imagine any project to build a factory outside the United States could materialize currently,' Numerama stated, citing recent US trade policies affecting automotive manufacturing. The outlet noted Tesla's previous international expansion plans have stalled, including a $4.5 billion Gigafactory announced for Mexico's Nuevo Leon in February 2023 that never came to fruition. Read also: Tesla Expand Superchargers Network in Morocco The circulated stories featured unverified quotes attributed to Elon Musk about 'Morocco's political stability and Tangier Med's logistical advantages.' These reports projected the creation of 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, with production supposedly beginning in late 2027. Numerama disclosed that the story originated from an April Fool's article by Maroc Diplomatique, which has since been removed, but not before being picked up and reported as legitimate news by various news outlets, including RT France. 'Beyond Elon Musk's statements, which should always be taken with a grain of salt, Tesla is also subject to numerous corridor rumors, some reliable, others not at all,' the French tech outlet said. While Morocco maintains automotive industry partnerships with manufacturers like Renault and Stellantis, and STMicroelectronics produces automotive components for Tesla at its Bouskoura facility near Casablanca, no plans exist for a Tesla manufacturing facility in the country. Tags: elon muskMisinformationTesla
