In Morocco, sardine prices, “ poor man’s fish “, are soaring and reaching 50 dirhams per kilo, or nearly €5. A very high price that makes it inaccessible for many modest households, already tested by inflation and increases in the price of other food products. The Moroccan press denounces a lack of control.
Due to a spectacular rise in its price, the sardine has never lived up to its name of ” poor man’s fish ” in Morocco. According to Moroccan media, the price of a kilo of sardines, which used to cost no more than 10 dirhams, has now reached 50 dirhams in some outlets in the coastal region of El Hoceima, or nearly €5, a record.
Morocco: sardines at 50 dirhams per kilo
Light, tasty and formerly inexpensive, sardines were a widely consumed dish in the region, especially during the summer, explains the Bladi information site. With current prices, few people can still afford it.
While some explain this surge in prices by a tendency to speculation and a lack of control and supervision on the part of the competent authorities, others assure that the problem is deeper.
Indeed, according to the Maroc Diplomatique media, we are witnessing a real “ shortage » of the sardine in Morocco which is “ passed over in silence » by the authorities. This shortage, adds the same source, is essentially due to “ the high concentration of fishing for this fish in certain geographical areas ».
More than 600,000 tonnes of sardines fished by Morocco in 2023
But what is surprising is that this shortage is rife while global warming has rather had repercussions “ beneficial » concerning sardine fishing in Morocco. In fact, Morocco was able to capture more than 600,000 tonnes of sardines in 2023.
Citing a study published in the journal Scientific Report, the Moroccan media explains that sardines are increasingly migrating northwards, notably along the coasts of West Africa, creating a “ record abundance » in the subtropical zones and a decrease in the intertropical region.
But alongside this abundance, an instability in the sardine market has emerged, caused in particular by “ a form of geographic competition that appeared between 2021 and 2022 », leading to shortages in several Moroccan regions.
Paradoxically, and while he should have benefited from this abundance, the Moroccan citizen finds himself obliged to pay more for a food that was once accessible, hence the importance of the composition of sardine schools for coastal and offshore fishing in order to counter the disparity between fishing zones, further indicates the Moroccan media.
