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Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed Sadiki, announced on Friday that prices of red meat will gradually drop before the month of Ramadan.
The minister claimed that the recent increases in red meat prices are “temporary.”
His statement comes amid frustration and plans of protest as many across Morocco continue to denounce the increase in food prices in the country.
Red meat prices increased to MAD 95 and MAD 100 instead of the usual prices that varied between MAD 66 and MAD 75 per kilogram.
Commenting on the situation, Sadiki said that the prices of the products rose due to disruptions in the meat chain as a result of the COVID pandemic and drought.
He said that these two factors impacted the supply markets in sufficient quantities, resulting in price increases.
Sadiki made his remarks in a statement to the press during a meeting he had today with the Interprofessional Federation of Red Meat.
During the meeting, the minister said the prices will gradually stabilize to return to their pre-crisis levels ahead of Ramadan.
He claimed that the government has taken measures to lower prices, including the abolition of customs duties as well as value-added tax.
The measures also include the importation of cattle for slaughter, the minister recalled, stressing that this plan would preserve domestic cattle to rebalance the national livestock chain.
Recently, the country announced its decision to import cattle from Brazil and Uruguay as part of the approach to weather price inflation in the market.
The government has been also pledging more action to tackle price increases amid popular uproar.
On Thursday, Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch said that the measure is part of “high royal instructions” to protect citizens’ purchasing power and ensure that markets across Morocco are sufficiently supplied with essential food products.
