Moroccan Fuel Prices Surge Despite Global Oil Decline, Consumer Groups Protest

While fuel prices are recording sharp declines in several countries in Europe and around the world, they are still rising in Morocco. The National Union of Oil and Gas and the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights have continuously denounced these "unjustified" prices, questioning the reasons for maintaining these high prices.

In a statement, the Federation called on the competent authorities to guarantee the protection of consumer rights and to ensure rigorous application of the law on freedom of prices and competition. The association also insisted on the urgency of updating the legal and regulatory framework of the fuel sector in order to fight against illicit commercial practices that destroy the economy and harm Moroccan consumers.

According to experts, given the fall in world prices and fluctuations in the dollar, pump prices should be set at 9 dirhams for diesel and 11 dirhams for gasoline. For industry professionals, it would be wise to align national prices with those of the world market.

"If prices were set according to the methods preceding price liberalization 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," El Houssine El Yamani, Secretary General of the National Union of Oil and Gas and President of the National Front for the Safeguarding of the Moroccan Oil Refinery, stated to Hespress in March.