Moroccan Fuel Prices Remain High Despite Global Drop, Experts Say

Houssine El Yamani, secretary general of the National Petroleum and Gas Union and president of the National Front for the Preservation of the Moroccan Oil Refinery, denounces this worrying rise in fuel prices in Morocco, despite the significant drop in prices on the international market. He states that the price of a barrel of oil is $70, or $511 per tonne, the price of diesel has fallen to $664 per tonne, and the price of gasoline has dropped to $685 per tonne.

"If the prices were set according to the modalities preceding the liberalization of prices and without the intervention of the compensation fund, the price of diesel should not exceed 9.76 dirhams per liter, and that of gasoline, 11.1 dirhams per liter," says El Yamani, stressing that the liberalization has led to an inflation of pump prices, reaching at least 11 dirhams for diesel and 13 dirhams for gasoline. A situation that, according to him, affects the purchasing power of Moroccans.

The secretary general of the National Petroleum and Gas Union also denounces "the ineffectiveness of the market regulation and control mechanisms, in particular the investigation reports and the transactional fines of the Competition Council." According to him, these actions "have remained without real impact." This is why he has called on the competent authorities to "take the necessary measures to protect the interests of the country and its citizens."