Rabat – As Eid al-Adha approaches, the Interprofessional Federation of Red Meats (Fiviar) and the National Association of Sheep and Goats (Anoc) in Morocco identified 5.8 million sheep and goats allocated for slaughter in honor of the holy occasion.
Eid al-Adha, roughly translating to “feast of sacrifice,” is one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar.
Celebrated on the 10th day of the lunar month of Dhu’l Hijjah, the “month of the pilgrimage”, Eid al-Adha is celebrated over three days, and commemorates the sacrifice of Abraham.
This year, Eid al-Adha is expected to fall in the last week of July.
Livestock breeders in the country are anticipating a successful Eid al-Adha, and hope to compensate for last year’s financial losses caused by two consecutive seasons of drought, along with the inter-city movement restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, some customers are already complaining about high prices of sheep and goats, three weeks ahead of Eid.
For clarification on media discussions about cattle and livestock, Morocco World News contacted the President of the Moroccan Federation for Consumer Rights, Bouazza Al-Kharati.
MWN enquired the president about the possible causes of such high prices, at such an early stage of the festive season. He explained that, despite breeders’ assurances of an ample supply, public demand exceeded their supply last year.
In order to avoid a similar situation this year, many people are purchasing sheep and goats prematurely, resulting in soaring prices.
In response to a question regarding possible changes in prices during the weeks leading up to Eid, Al-Kharati confirmed that the prices will continue to rise from this point.
Providing further context to his statement, he clarified that this spike in prices can be explained by a variety of factors, including the weather over the past year, which increased the costs of fodder by a considerable amount.
Following Morocco’s recent Marhaba Operation and tourism strategy, another factor contributing to the spike in prices is the anticipated influx of Moroccans living abroad.
The premature spike in prices left many Moroccans worried about affording a sacrificial sheep this year.
Bouazza Al-Kharati took this chance to remind Moroccans that performing the Eid sacrifice “Is a religious tradition, not a religious obligation,” and urged citizens to observe Eid in accordance with their financial capacity.
Some consumers took to social media to denounce the current rising prices, and recalled past controversies surrounding the quality of the meat.
Back in 2017, many unsatisfied customers were outraged when ,during Eid, they discovered the meat was inedible, as it was blue in color and emanated an unhealthy odor.
Regarding this issue, Al-Kharati said that “the government is not responsible for the quality and health of the meat,” and that the 2017 incident was an isolated one, which occurred when breeders fed their cattle chicken excrement, leading to spoilt and unhealthy meat,
As for Moroccans choosing to purchase their sheep from accredited farms instead of independent and seasonal breeders, the National Health Safety Office plans to tighten control by subjecting samples of meat and animal feed to laboratory tests to ensure compliance with health safety standards.
“Considering consumers’ feedback regarding the quality of the meat for the past 4 years, we are sure this issue will not occur this year,” he concluded.
The National Health Safety Office (ONSSA) supervises the process of numbering identified sheep and goats prepared for Eid al-Adha, by attaching a yellow plastic tag to each sheep or goat, each bearing a serial number.
The serial numbers allow consumers to trace back the source of the meat from a national database. Buyers are highly advised to keep receipts containing the seller’s information, and their sheep’s serial number to support any claims they could have in the future.
