A recent report from the Competition Council reveals that the gross commercial margins recorded by the nine main distributors of diesel and gasoline in Morocco continue to exceed the levels observed in the second quarter of 2024, although they remain within the limits observed during the first half of the same year. These results suggest significant profitability for these operators while consumers bear high prices at the pump.
According to the report, the average gross profit margins achieved during the third quarter of 2024 amount to 1.46 dirham per liter for diesel and two dirham per liter for gasoline, levels higher than those of the second quarter ( 1.21 dirham/liter for diesel and 1.79 dirham/liter for gasoline). These margins reflect a dynamic recovery of profits by distributors, particularly after a slight drop recorded at the start of the year.
The figures show that the gross margins on diesel oscillate between a minimum of 1.35 dirham/liter and a maximum of 1.59 dirham/liter, while those of gasoline, systematically higher, vary between 1.86 and 2.11 dirhams/liter. This disparity, according to the council, reflects a criticized approach by distributors to increase their revenues in a market context favorable to their interests.
Profitability to the detriment of consumers
The increases in margins observed during the end of summer 2024, particularly in August and September, reveal a worrying trend: an increase in profits in a period when international oil prices have not experienced a surge justifying such a dynamic. . Between mid-July and the end of September, margins increased by 11 cents per liter for diesel and 14 cents per liter for gasoline, reaching respective peaks of 1.51 and 2.11 dirhams per liter at the end. of the month of August.
The Competition Council emphasizes that these gross profits are calculated on the basis of the transfer prices applied by the distributors and weighted by their respective market shares. It warns against practices which, although part of a formal legal framework, reflect a lack of fairness in the distribution of the burden between economic operators and end consumers.
-Market concentration at the service of profitability
Remember that only nine companies, out of the 31 operating on the national market, control 84% of fuel import volumes. This concentration gives these players decisive influence over retail prices, with no real competition likely to mitigate their high margins.
The report also highlights the strategy of distributors, who skillfully adjust their gross margins according to market fluctuations, while maintaining a level of profit considered excessive in a context where Moroccan households are struggling to absorb the continued rise in living costs.
These results reveal an overwhelming reality: large operators in the sector largely benefit from a dominant position to increase their revenues to the detriment of the purchasing power of Moroccans. The Competition Council, through this report, implicitly calls for serious reflection on the implementation of corrective measures such as a review of regulatory frameworks or the introduction of mechanisms allowing commercial margins to be capped, two proposals that the government of Aziz Akhannouch is ruling it out for the moment. It is, according to the very terms of the Rahhou institution, to ensure “a balance between the imperatives of operator profitability and the protection of consumer interests.”
