Handicrafts are doing well in Fes

Despite their sharp decline in February, exports of Fes handicraft products grew by 42% in the first quarter of 2013.

They reached a value of 8.716 million MAD during the first three months of the current year, compared to 6.126 million MAD a year earlier, representing 42.29% growth, according to figures from the Regional Delegation of Handicrafts.

The harvest was particularly good for exports of handicraft products from Morocco's spiritual capital in March, with a volume of 2.573 million MAD, a significant increase of 24.72% compared to the previous month.

Exports of wrought iron and zellige also recorded good performance during this quarter, with respective increases of 100% and 87.69%. France led the countries importing handicraft products from the Fes wilaya during the said quarter, with a volume of 1.792 million MAD, compared to 464,863 MAD during the same period of the previous year, an increase of 285.51%, followed by the Sultanate of Oman (+100%), the State of Bahrain (+100%) and the United States (97.06%).

It should be recalled that this commercial improvement recorded for the month of March comes after a sharp drop in exports in February. Indeed, handicraft exports, which constitute a source of income for nearly 33% of the city's population and for more than 75% of the inhabitants of its Medina, saw a sharp drop of 49.42% in February compared to the previous month, with a volume of 2.063 million dirhams. According to figures from the same source, February exports were also down by 5.76% compared to the same month in 2012.

It should be noted that Senegal is the leading importer of Fes handicraft products. Indeed, it recorded the strongest increase in terms of imports of Fes handicraft products in February with a volume of 1.238 million dirhams, followed by Great Britain (251,273 MAD) and the United States (217,990 MAD).

It is worth noting that the city of Fes, which is the main handicraft centre of Morocco, has nearly 53,000 artisans, or 17% of the working population, spread over more than 200 trades and 12,691 handicraft units.

Provider / Source : Libération