Red meats: here is why imports have not stopped the rise in prices

Despite the arrival of the first shipments of imported red meat, prices remain high on the local market and have even peaked recently. At least that's what the daily reports Assaba in its weekend edition of December 28 and 29.

However, the daily believes, the government has put in place measures to ensure market supplies at affordable prices. It is within this framework that he authorized the importation of fresh and frozen meat from abroad. The operation was expected, in a context of falling inflation at the national level, to pull prices down.

Very recently, the government spokesperson announced that the Kingdom would import, before the end of the year, no less than 20,000 tonnes of red meat. The government had already, he assured, processed around ten import requests relating to 10,000 tonnes of meat.

Despite this, notes the daily, prices still remain very high. Professionals are calling for the revision of certain clauses in the specifications. The document was precisely developed with a view to preserving public health and “so that anyone does not improvise as an importer of red meat», notes the daily.

The minister also insisted on this point, stressing that “this approach is part of a precise regulatory framework, with strict conditions defined in specifications applicable to the importation of meat, whether frozen or fresh.“. This measure is Assabaquoting the government spokesperson, “aims to meet growing demand and ensure adequate supply of meat products to the national market».

For him, the increase in prices is due to the decline in the national herd in recent years and “importation is the only solution to get out of this crisis“. A professional quoted by the daily estimates in this regard that last year, Morocco imported around 80,000 heads of cattle intended for slaughter. Obviously, this was not enough to meet demand, knowing, estimates the same source, that the average consumption of Moroccans does not exceed 17 kilograms per person per year.

Still, the government is counting on its import policy to meet consumer demand, directing importers to the nearest markets. Spain for example. It is in this context that a meeting took place on November 12 in Rabat on the development of the red meat sector with the participation of several Spanish operators.

This is why as soon as the ONSSA published a circular relating to the conditions for importing fresh “halal” meat, importers turned to the Spanish market, which best meets the conditions imposed on importers, namely a distance traveled by trucks less than 500 kilometers or 8 hours drive to destination.