Bouazza Kherrati, president of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights, interviewed by Hespress, denounces the role of intermediaries who, according to him, cause a rise in prices well beyond that resulting from a limited supply, already impacted by droughts successive. However, he welcomes Morocco’s initiative to import olive oil from Brazil to diversify its sources of supply and counter speculation. Brazilian olive oil indeed offers more “reasonable” prices than that from Spain or Italy, countries also affected by the shortage.
Ali Chtour, president of the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights, points the finger at speculators who are taking advantage of the crisis linked to droughts to “ignite” the market and control prices. He calls on the government to strengthen controls and severely sanction anyone who attempts to manipulate prices to the detriment of citizens.
Read: Olive oil even more expensive in Morocco
Several factors explain this surge in prices: repeated droughts, rising temperatures, the destruction of olive groves due to climate change, the spread of diseases and the increase in the cost of fertilizers and pesticides. All these elements force producers to increase their prices to compensate for their losses.
Faced with this situation, Ali Chtour encourages support for small and medium-sized farmers, particularly through training and access to modern tools such as drip irrigation, to optimize production and reduce costs. It also calls on consumers to be vigilant and warns them against purchasing olive oil of dubious origin, sold on the street, at the risk of exposing themselves to health problems. “Everyone must be responsible for themselves and their family, large or small,” he insists.
The Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed El Bouari, announced a drop in olive production of 11% compared to the previous year, and 40% compared to a normal year. Olive oil production is expected to reach 950,000 tonnes this year. The minister assured that measures would be taken to regulate the market, particularly in terms of imports and exports.
