Morocco’s Mask Crisis: 5 Million Daily Produced, Yet Shortages Persist Due to Speculation

Despite the distribution channels defined by the State, speculators are seizing large quantities to resell them at high prices. It is difficult to get the masks in shopping centers or grocery stores, as announced by the Minister of Commerce. Yet, Morocco produces 5 million masks per day that disappear as if by magic. A situation that has forced some to reuse the "general public" masks several times, for fear of being penalized.

Faced with the complaints of shopping centers out of stock, various reasons are put forward. For some, this false shortage is first due to the lack of control of the distribution channel that the State had defined for the production companies. For others, it is the regulated selling price that pushes intermediaries and speculators to seize the masks to resell them at a price higher than that set by the authorities.

"Most of the orders placed by merchants with mask production companies are only partially fulfilled." The bulk of the orders is "diverted by intermediaries for resale at high prices, sometimes reaching up to three times the original price," creating a stock shortage in the regular channels.

Some believe that the regulated price of 80 cents per unit benefits only the intermediaries and speculators, who have bought large quantities of masks to resell them with a high profit margin.