Drought Drives Moroccan Olive Oil Prices to Record Highs, Threatening Affordability

According to forecasts from industry professionals, olive oil prices are expected to reach 150 dirhams per liter next season. A rise that is likely to affect the purchasing power of low-income households and make this highly prized product inaccessible to Moroccans. This increase in olive oil prices is due to the purchase by large operators of the harvests of small operators before maturity in order to "monopolize and make profits", explains Hamid Sabri, president of the Moroccan Association of Olive Producers, to the Al3omk website.

Sabri rules out any possibility of a price drop, even in the event of rainfall, stressing that a possible improvement in weather conditions would increase yields next season, but should have no impact on prices in the short term. The association president calls on the competent authorities to strengthen controls and provide support to farmers and sector players to relieve the latter as well as Moroccan consumers.

The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Saddiki, exchanged on August 5 with the president and members of the Moroccan Federation of Agricultural Product Canning Industries on the measures to be adopted to protect the agri-food industries and the olive oil sector, and support entrepreneurs in this context of drought and inflation of input prices.