The Moroccan textile industry plans to create 90,000 jobs by 2020, according to the terms of an agreement signed at the end of February by the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing (AMITH) and the Moroccan Ministries of Industry, Economy and Finance.
According to the Medafrica Times, the agreement was signed as framework for the 2014-2020 Industrial Acceleration Plan, which began in April of last year. The industry pledged to raise its exports to 464 million by 2020.
To help achieve its goals, the State agreed to rent 95 hectares (950,000 square feet) to industry operators at special prices and provide subsidies through the Industrial Development Fund.
The Moroccan textile and clothing industry has been in a decline since the early 2000s, partially due to tough competition from China, but as of January 2015, the country exported $136.3 million worth of textiles and apparel to the U.S., a 16.16% jump from the same period last year, according to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA).