By Ali Bouzerda

     FEZ, Morocco, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Morocco will soon issue a white paper setting out plans to modernise and expand its multi-billion dollar handicraft industry, of which its Berber carpets are one of the most popular products.

     ``The white paper's main target is to create an environment and conditions to boost the handicraft sector and make it one of Morocco's locomotives of economic growth and development,'' Ahmed Lahlimi, Minister in Charge of General Affairs told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

     The sector's overall output represents 19 percent of Morocco's $36-billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the government hopes to more than double this.

     The industry also employs 20 percent of the North African country's 10-million workforce, mainly in small and medium sized businesses.

     Lahlimi said the decision was taken during a seminar held in the northern city of Fez over the weekend attended by 1,200 people.

     Fez is Morocco's traditional production centre for textiles, leather, silver and copper handicraft products.Morocco's handicrafts products are exported mainly to Europe and the United States.
``The meeting, which gathered professionals, experts and government officials reached a conclusion that the sector cannot be competitive unless it modernises its techniques and improves the quality of its products,'' the minister said.

     QUALITY COMES FIRST

     Lahlimi, who presided at the meeting and who is a close aide of Socialist Prime Minister Abderrahamne El Youssoufi, said the industry needed upgrading and re-organisation.

     ``There is only one way for Moroccan products to be competitive on the international market, that is quality and innovation,'' Lahlimi said.

     Lahlimi said the government has drawn a long-term plan aimed at improving the sector's production.

     ``In line with the tourism development strategy, we target the figure of 15 billion dirhams ($1.34 billion) as receipts in hard currency and creation of 450,000 jobs by 2010 thanks to the handicraft potential,'' the minister said.

     The tourism ministry has earlier this year launched a campaign locally and abroad aiming to attract 10 million visitors by the year 2010 compared to around 2.5 million tourists in 2000.

     One of the main hard currency earners, the tourism sector has improved its receipts in the first half of the year by 45 percent to $1.16 billion compared with the same period last year, official data showed.

     Moroccan authorities plan to invest up to $5.2 million in six seaside resorts to boost the tourism sector in the 10 coming years.