Moroccan Vegetable Prices Plummet as Exports to Africa Halt

The recent drop in vegetable prices is mainly due to the halt of exports to Mauritania and other African countries, says the weekly L’Observateur du Maroc. "The decision of the Mauritanian authorities to increase customs duties on vegetables imported from Morocco via the El Guerguera border post had immediate repercussions on prices," explains Abderrazak Echabbi, secretary general of the association of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market, quoted by the magazine.

Currently, a kilo of tomatoes costs 6 dirhams and a kilo of potatoes, about 4 dirhams, it is noted, stressing that despite this recent drop in prices, retail prices remain high compared to those of the wholesale market. "The retail price of tomatoes is currently 6 dirhams, while in the wholesale market it is only 2 dirhams," notes Echabbi, who attributes this gap to the law of price liberalization and the difficulty for the control committees to impose reasonable and fixed prices.

The secretary general of the association of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market calls for reflections on how to ensure price stability in the future, even if the current drop is favorably welcomed by consumers.