Morocco’s Government Closely Monitoring Food Market to Control Prices

Morocco’s food market is facing unprecedented issues along the supply chain that includes price speculation, and the high number of middlemen in the market, the country’s Government Spokesperson Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament, Mustapha Baitas, said on Thursday.

Rabat – Morocco’s food market is facing unprecedented issues along the supply chain that includes price speculation, and the high number of middlemen in the market, the country’s Government Spokesperson Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament, Mustapha Baitas, said on Thursday.

Speaking at an event at the Lafqui Titouani Foundation in Sale, Baitas said that the government is ready to crack down on predatory practices that might be the cause behind the dramatic rise in food prices.

The government is keeping a close watch on the market, he added, noting that prices are being carefully monitored by government officials throughout the supply chain.

The government is holding almost daily meetings with producers and professionals in the various sectors to ensure adequate supply and stable prices for Moroccan consumers, he explained.

Responding to questions from reporters, Baitas stressed that the government is carrying out daily operations to regulate prices.

In addition to the groundwork the government is undertaking to regulate prices, it has adopted a number of measures to cushion the effect of rising prices on the national purchasing power, he said recalling the increase in the budget allocated to the Subsidies Fund.

The government is subsidizing electricity prices, and transport professionals under a budget of MAD 5 billion ($480 million) to avert additional price hikes, he noted. For wheat – a staple to the Moroccan diet – the government allocated nearly MAD 9 billion ($864.7 billion) to stabilize prices, and another MAD 22 billion ($2.1 billion) went to subsidize cooking gas in 2022.

Like other countries, Morocco is experiencing record inflation rates, with food price inflation reaching a staggering 15% year-on-year in 2022.

Food inflation in Morocco was further aggravated by the severe drought in 2022 that crippled the country’s rainfall-dependent agriculture and caused the yield to plummet.

The drought coupled with soaring prices of animal feed equally affected Morocco’s livestock market, with red meat prices jumping from MAD 70 ($7) last October to more than MAD 100 ($10).