After recording a significant decline in recent weeks, chicken price should start to rise again. During the summer, Moroccans were surprised by a surge in poultry prices reaching 30 and even 40 DH per kilogram. Without returning to previous levels, over the last two weeks these prices have recorded a drop oscillating between 8 and 9 dirhams, reaching 17 to 18 dirhams per kilogram on the Moroccan markets. But the lull will not last long, warn professionals. Already, yesterday Thursday, prices rose again by 2 dirhams, to reach 20 dirhams per kilogram. According to professionals in the sector, this price fluctuation is due to several factors, including the drop in demand due to the weak purchasing power of citizens, as well as the regulation of supply and demand by certain companies. chick production.
In this context, Mohamed Aboud, president of the Moroccan Broiler Breeding Association, explained that the recent drop in prices is due to the reduction in demand, as well as the reduction in chick production. during the summer. Producers sold chicks to breeders at 14 dirhams each, then they increased their production while maintaining the same prices. And to note that chicken production costs remain high. “Producing a kilogram of chicken meat costs around 20 dirhams, while it is sold between 15 and 16 dirhams on farms, which causes heavy losses for breeders, especially the smallest among them,” explains he.
Mr. Aboud also stressed that the monopoly of large chick production companies complicates the situation for breeders. “These companies suddenly increase production to maximize profits, while farmers have to bear the high costs of poultry feed, despite prices falling by half internationally,” he says. And note that feed represents 90% of the cost of producing a kilogram of chicken.
The professional foresees, in this context, a further increase in prices in the days to come, in particular due to the growing reluctance of producers to buy chicks, the current prices constituting a heavy financial burden for them. He also pointed out that controlling supply and demand makes consumers and chicken farmers particularly vulnerable to market fluctuations.
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