Published on 09.02.2023 at 11:18 by APA
The Moroccan dailies published this Thursday focus on the soaring prices of products and at their head the fuel fruits and vegetables and meats.+L’Économiste+, who in an article entitled “Fuel, fruits and vegetables, ! “, writes that the prices of fuel at the pump resume their escalation in the service stations. An increase that did not leave the parliamentarians unmoved, who demanded explanations from the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.
“Fuel prices do not fall within the prerogatives of my department,” she replies, during last Monday’s session in the House of Representatives. A statement that aroused the anger of the deputies. In Casablanca, the price of tomatoes varies from 10 to 12 DH. Red meats are no exception. The price per kilo in butcher shops is well over 100 DH. The situation is described as critical by the National Federation of Consumer Associations, which does not hide its concern about a new surge in prices as the month of Ramadan approaches.
On the same note, +L’Opinion+ notes that for the past few weeks, the price of tomatoes has reached record levels in the markets. And the trend is likely to continue as the month of Ramadan approaches. Although farmers assure that the production of early tomatoes will be sufficient this year, weather conditions have delayed the harvest by a few weeks, which has created a gap between supply and demand.
But this alone does not explain the disruption of the market. Farmers are in great financial difficulty, linked to the explosion of input costs and accumulated debts. They often sell their production at a loss and hope that exports will restore the bar. The structural cause is rather on the side of intermediaries, who take advantage of the economic situation to amplify their margins, until indecency, comments the publication.
+Al Bayane+ reports that the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, said that 21,000 price control operations were carried out in 2022, concerning 300,000 points of sale, having made it possible to seize 1,100 tons of damaged products and to record 12,000 violations. In response to a question on “price control and supply of the national market with basic food products”, the Minister noted that the commission in charge of prices inspected 17,000 points of sale last January and found 900 violations.
+ Al Massae + returns to the statements of the head of the Competition Council about the price increase. Indeed, the chairman of the Competition Council, Ahmed Rahhou, indicated on Tuesday in Rabat that the Competition Council has no “positions to take” regarding the rise or fall of prices, but intervenes “in the event of abuse of a dominant position or agreement”.
“The role of the Council, as an arbitrator available to those who respect the law and against anti-competitive practices, does not allow it to intervene in the event of a rise or fall in prices unless this evolution of price is induced by an abuse of a dominant position or agreement”, he underlined in reaction to the interventions of journalists during an exchange meeting organized by the Competition Council with the media.
