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Rabat – With Ramadan around the corner, local producers in Morocco have expressed growing concerns about the influx of dates from Algeria and Tunisia into Moroccan markets.
Moroccan newspaper Al Ittihad, affiliated with the Socialist Union political party, quoted data, suggesting that dates from Algeria and Tunisia “are flooding” Moroccan markets.
The newspaper’s data stressed that the supply of Tunisian and Algerian dates in Morocco affects locally-sourced products.
“Wholesale dates markets in Derb Mila’ in Casablanca are witnessing an unprecedented supply of Algerian dates this year,” the newspaper said today.
Dates are among the products that are widely consumed during Ramadan.
Muslims across the world often eat dates as part of their first meal to break the fast as they are full of minerals and vitamins that offer a burst of instant energy.
Quoting producers, the newspaper stressed that suppliers are “very active to flood local markets with imported dates” amid a decline in national products due to drought and challenges affecting the sector in Morocco.
Local producers also accused external suppliers of using this opportunity to make “high-profit margins” as they take advantage of government funding and their tax exemption on importing dates.
“The prices of imported dates have increased significantly this year compared to local dates,” the same source added.
The newspaper also quoted Majid Abdel Salam, the head of a data cooperative, who blamed the government for an “absence” of a clear policy to improve the national sector’s production.
Adel Salam also accused the government of being responsible for this “chaos,” stressing that the cabinet should work to support necessary infrastructure for both production and marketing.
Last year, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture said that the North African kingdom aims to double its production by 2030 to reach 300,000 tonnes per year.
Morocco produced 149,000 tonnes in 2021.
The government also pledged measures to improve the industry, stressing that the goal to increase local production is part of the implementation of the new strategy Generation Green 2020-2023.
As part of the strategy, the country seeks to plant five million plants, including three million traditional plants.
