Moroccan Sheep Prices Surge Ahead of Eid al-Adha Despite Ample Supply

The herd is generally composed of 22 million sheep and 6 million goats, while the demand represents almost 20%. It is estimated at 5.5 million heads, including 5 million sheep and 500,000 goats. The price of a sheep costs between 3000 to 3200 DH.

Several factors are behind this surge. The rise in sheep prices is justified by two consecutive years of drought. A main factor that translates into higher livestock feed (corn is imported almost 100%) and the scarcity of grazing areas, says Challenge. The decline in births is also another factor.

Other reasons: new consumption pattern (abstinence from the ritual related to the Sunnah), purchasing power of Moroccans (the price of the sheep far exceeds the monthly SMIG and the specific SMAG for workers in the agricultural sector), return of Moroccans residing abroad (MRE). Not to mention the role of intermediaries. They regularly intervene in the sheep sales circuit by monopolizing the majority of resale stores.