Moroccan public in outcry over soaring prices of food 2009-04-22
The spiking cost of basic food items is eroding Moroccans' purchasing power and forcing many to accuse the government of doing little to help. By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 22/04/09
The cost of vegetables, fish, and white meat continues to rise in Morocco. With inflation starting to bite, citizens see the price spike as incomprehensible and exorbitant.
The price of some items has almost doubled within one month. These include chicken and sardines, which are very popular with Moroccans.
The market price of chicken and sardines has risen from 14 and 10 dirhams respectively at the beginning of March, to 20 and 19 dirhams respectively.
A similar situation now affects vegetables, including potatoes, carrots and onions, which two months ago cost around 4-5 dirhams per kilogram but now cost more than 9 dirhams per kilogram.
The only vegetable that has seen no significant price increase is the tomato, which can still be bought for 4 dirhams per kilogram.
The High Commission for Planning (HCP) has confirmed these price rises in a report showing that the price of vegetables and fresh fish increased by 18% and 11% respectively between January and February of this year.
With potatoes and onions costing 9 dirhams per kilo and carrots selling for 8 dirhams a kilo, Moroccan families – especially those on low incomes who rely on vegetables as a staple due to the high cost of meat – are suffering from the current price hikes.
The cost of food has made a serious dent in the budgets of housewives.
"I’ve had to buy less and unfortunately also cook less food, because with these prices it’s really unbearable," Naima, a cleaner who works for a communications firm, told Magharebia.
Nazha, a social worker based at a clinic in Casablanca, cannot understand the real reasons underlying the extraordinary rises in the prices of vegetables and meat.
"First they said it was because of the low rainfall, and now they’re trying to tell us it rained too much," she said. "It’s not true. Everyone wants to squeeze money out of the poor, who are the victims of a woeful lack of authorities to monitor prices and regulate the market."
Under fire from consumers, vegetable-sellers insist they are not to blame. They claim to have suffered themselves by whittling down their margins to stop their customers from abandoning them.
Abdelali, who sells vegetables in the old medina of Casablanca, believes that the reasons for the hikes lie in distribution chains. "We’re also the victims of speculation by various people."
Observers point to other causes.
"First of all, there is the impact of the heavy rain that Morocco has had this year. This caused devastation in some farming regions that supply us with produce, such as Gharb, where orchards were hit, crops were ruined, and access to farms was impeded," explained Said Daaouf, a member of the Consumer Protection Association.
"Exports, rising transportation costs, and the transport strike are some of the reasons for the rises we have seen over the past few weeks."
A number of other reasons have been put forward. However, it is widely believed that although climate conditions have had some effect, the real problem is the large number of intermediaries, commonly known as samsara, along the distribution chain between producers and retailers.
The public believe that the authorities should step in by minimising the number of intermediaries who complicate the distribution chain.
In the meantime, the Moroccan government announced that it would do everything in its power to protect the public’s purchasing power.
In a statement issued to weekly newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune, Minister of Economic and General Affairs Nizar Baraka underlined that "the government decided back in 2008 to raise people’s incomes in order to boost consumption by increasing salaries and cutting income tax".
"These increases, which ranged between 10% and 22%, far exceeded the rise in the rate of inflation," added Baraka. "The Caisse de Compensation disbursed 36 billion dirhams in 2008 and will spend 29 billion in 2009" with the aim of putting more money into Moroccans’ pockets, he said.
This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com. __________________
i bought potatoes 2 days ago 10DH/KG. I really don't know either is it because the offer is less, or because of transporters strike or both. whatever the reason is, i think it will be hard for the small consumer to satisfy his daily needs. we as an agriculture country, items like vegetables should be cheap or sold with acceptable price so that the poor can afford to get it but unfortunately its not the case. i hope the governement will intervene as soon as possible to solve this problem.
Quote Kutchia How stupid are these people? Do they realy think they can solve the problem by creating more inflation?
some people think they will live until the End of times and if not them, then their descendants will. they don't mind sucking the blood of the poor as long as their names live on. how can you expain the economic effects of inflation to a selfish pig?
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