Authorities have intensified their monitoring of the Moroccan market due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Rabat – Morocco’s Interministerial Committee in Charge of Monitoring Supply, Prices, and Quality detected 768 infringements in terms of the prices and quality of food products between March 1 and March 29.
The committee monitored the prices and quality of products at 30,000 wholesale and retail outlets and storage warehouses across the country, according to a statement issued on March 30.
The violations include 519 for failing to display prices, 146 for not presenting invoices, 41 for not respecting quality and hygiene standards, 49 for illegal increase in the regulated prices, three for clandestine storage, and 10 other miscellaneous offenses.
The committee reported it has taken regulatory measures against the offenders and seized and destroyed around 43.6 tons of goods unfit for consumption.
In order to prevent merchants from exploiting the coronavirus crisis to increase their prices, the committee intensified their examinations in March.
On March 23, the committee assured Moroccans that the prices of most consumed products in the country remain stable despite the COVID-19 crisis.
In addition, the supply of goods to Moroccan markets continues at its regular intervals, with the abundant supply of commodities exceeding demand in most cases.
The interministerial committee holds regular meetings every Monday and Thursday to follow developments on prices in Moroccan markets and take the necessary legal procedures to combat fraud, monopoly, speculation, and market manipulation.
The committee’s recurring statements aim to reassure Moroccan citizens and residents that the country’s state of emergency has not caused shortages of essential goods or price increases.
On March 19, one day before the implementation of a national lockdown, Minister of Industry Moulay Hafid Elalamy affirmed that the supply of goods in Moroccan markets is “ensured in sufficient quantities for the coming months.”
Despite the lockdown, sales outlets and supermarkets remain open for citizens to purchase essential goods, assured the minister.
