Lhe current crisis finds its origin in part in the high mortality of chicks, accentuated by unfavorable climatic conditions and an insufficient quality of available poultry.
As the president of the National Association of Broiler Breeders in Morocco, Mohamed Aboud, explains to Hespress“Due to chick mortality, additional problems related to low supply arise. This is partly due to imbalances in the supply chain”.
“For more than ten years, experts and specialists have been warning about the possibility of such a situation, but the ministry has not taken these warnings into consideration”
Mohamed Aboud
This situation contributed to a significant reduction in supply on the market, worsening the pressure on prices. As an example, Aboud specifies that “on the Casablanca wholesale market, the price reached 23 dirhams per kilo, which means that it is sold to the consumer at 27 dirhams. In Tangier, the price is around 30 dirhams, and here we are talking about the prices of live chicken”.
Small and medium-sized breeders, who represent the majority of producers, are the first to suffer from this situation. The cost of acquiring chicks has reached record levels. Aboud emphasizes that “breeders, who are the backbone of national production, face exorbitant costs which reach 14 dirhams per kilo for chicks, while their real cost does not exceed 2 dirhams. This led to many breeders leaving the market”.
In addition, the quality of poultry feed has deteriorated, increasing the burden on farmers. “The livestock feed crisis adds to other problems as feed quality has declined sharply without effective control”, deplores Aboud.
This accumulation of difficulties pushes some breeders to mortgage their property to repay debts contracted with suppliers, an unsustainable situation without concrete support from the authorities.
For professionals, this crisis is not new. It reflects unsuitable public policies and a lack of monitoring on the part of the authorities. “Unfortunately, the sector has not received the necessary attention from the responsible authorities”, regrets Aboud. He recalls that “for more than ten years, experts and specialists have been warning about the possibility of such a situation, but the ministry has not taken these warnings into consideration”.
The agreements made between the government and the sector federations have not made it possible to resolve the structural problems. “Today we are experiencing a catastrophic crisis. The local production structure has been destroyed in favor of poorly thought-out policies. The agreements and contracts concluded by the ministry with the federation have not achieved their objectives, leaving the sector in a state of collapse”, explains Aboud.
“Frozen products of unknown origin are flooding the market. This threatens not only breeders, but also consumers”
Mohamed Aboud
He also highlights the disparities between Morocco and other countries, citing the example of European farmers: “For example, European farmers benefit from the support of their governments in terms of cost and quality, while we suffer from rising prices and lack of control.”
This crisis also impacts consumers, who have to deal with unprecedented price increases and concerns about the quality of the products available. “Frozen products of unknown origin are flooding the market. This threatens not only breeders, but also consumers”, warns Aboud.
To avoid a total collapse of the Moroccan poultry sector, professionals are calling for urgent measures. Among the solutions envisaged: rigorous supervision of production, strict regulation of input prices, as well as financial support for breeders in difficulty.
