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exports are down, undermined by the rise of Asian low-cost leaders, geographical dependence on a few markets, and outdated production facilities.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.