Moroccan Grocers Extend Credit Lifeline to Struggling Households Amid COVID Crisis

"We can’t help it. We have clients we’ve known for ten or fifteen years, to whom we’ve always granted credit by notebook. We can’t stop now, in the middle of the crisis, when some have lost their jobs and can no longer meet their needs." This statement from a grocer sheds light on the financial situation of Moroccan households, due to the lockdown, the restrictive measures still in force in several cities, and the slow resumption of activities, explains Médias24.

The neighborhood grocer who agrees to sell on credit, without setting a payment deadline, has never been so solicited since the beginning of the lockdown, reveals a study carried out last July by the High Commission for Planning, which indicates that 20% of households with a debt to grocers have been unable to honor their debts, 21.4% in urban areas and 16.8% in rural areas.

"Some even agree to lend money to the most affected families in case of need (illness or other...)" says the president of the National Union of Merchants and Professionals, Nabil Nourri.

The union leader paints a more worrying picture: "for example, in Tiflet, the authorities force us to close between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., whereas that’s the time of day when we make the most sales." In other words, declining activity, the burden of unpaid debts, personal expenses, rental charges and payment of suppliers, the grocers are being tested. "Some, unable to honor their commitments, had to change jobs, having lost their initial capital," reports Médias24.

As for the aid from benefactors, who anonymously pay the credits in place of the clients, "they are less and less visible, unlike the first three months of confinement," concludes the same source.