RABAT, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Morocco expects its cereal harvest to hit a 10.2 million tons, an increasing of 203 pct in cereal harvest year-on-year.
The forecast was made on Monday by agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch in a meeting at the eve of the opening of the annual International Agriculture Fair in the northern city of Meknes.
In 2015, a severe drought hit the country, which compromised the 2016 agriculture production, and on the top of which cereal harvest.
Agriculture accounts for more than 15 percent of the north African country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The good rainfall since October has helped Morocco's economy grew by 4.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with 1.7 percent in the same period of previous year, according to the official High Commission for Planning.
The commission said in a note on the Moroccan economy that this growth was mainly due to the rise in agricultural output by 12.9 percent in the first quarter this year, up from nine percent last year.
Morocco's International Agriculture Fair, which invited Italy as its guest of honor, will be held on April 18-23.
