Morocco’s Meat Market Stabilizes: Prices Hold Steady Despite Global Pressures

Good news for consumers of red meats. Prices should remain stable until the end of the year. "The prices currently applied should be maintained until the end of the year, pending government decisions on tax and customs exemptions on imports," confirms Hicham Jouabri, regional secretary of wholesalers in red meats, with the newspaper Assahra Al Maghribia. He took care to specify that the wholesale prices of Brazilian veal meats are between 70 and 75 dirhams per kilogram, while the meats of Spanish, local or veal cattle fluctuate between 90 and 92 dirhams. As for the prices of sheep meats, they vary from 85 to 103 dirhams. The simple reason: the weight of the animal remains decisive in the price setting.

The large sheep, often intended for Eid Al-Adha, are therefore less expensive than the small imported sheep, which households are fond of. In butcher shops, retail prices range from 80 to 120 dirhams due to regional differences and the cost of commercial rents. According to Jamal Farhane, provincial secretary of the red meat transport and retail sector in Casablanca, the price of Brazilian buffalo is between 70 and 80 dirhams per kilogram, while the other categories remain stable. He also welcomed the royal decision to suspend the celebration of Eid Al-Adha this year, the impact of which has proved positive: "Without this measure, prices would have exceeded the 200 dirhams threshold."

Is a return to pre-drought prices conceivable? It is illusory, says Farhane, noting that the considerable losses suffered by the national herd of sheep and cattle have permanently altered the market balance. His wish is that there be stricter control of slaughtering, in particular by extending the ban that already applies to ewes to female cattle, in order to strengthen the local herd and move towards food sovereignty in this sector.