Morocco Fuel Prices Drop Slightly, Sparking Public Frustration

In Rabat, for example, a liter of diesel was around 10.54 dirhams at some distributors, while gasoline exceeded 12.61 dirhams.

For El Houssine El Yamani, a union figure in the oil sector (CDT), the numbers don’t add up. He believes that this decrease is disconnected from recent international prices. Referring to the calculation method from before the 2015 liberalization, he claims that the correct prices would be much lower: "below 9.09 dirhams for diesel and 10.59 dirhams for gasoline".

The union leader doesn’t hesitate to speak of "illegitimate profits" and points to operators’ profit margins that would exceed 20% in Morocco, a rate significantly higher than the "less than 5%" observed, according to him, in countries where competition truly functions. He also mentions the missed opportunity of Russian oil, often cheaper.

Faced with this criticism, official figures from the Competition Council show that the purchase cost represents the largest share of the final price (more than 50% for diesel, 46% for gasoline). Taxation (TIC and VAT) constitutes the second major item, weighing about 31% for diesel and 38% for gasoline. The gross distribution margins are around 15% to 16%, then distributed between wholesale distributors and service station managers.