Olive Oil Prices Surge in Morocco Amid Drought and Supply Shortages

Olive oil in all its states. In the space of a year, the price of olive oil in Morocco has exploded, going from 90 dirhams per liter (8.50 euros) to 110 dirhams (10.40 euros) or even 120 dirhams (11.30 euros) currently, an increase that can exceed 30% when the 1 liter bottle did not exceed 50 dirhams (4.70 euros) in 2021, reports Le Figaro. Exorbitant prices could continue this year to reach the symbolic bar of 150 dirhams (14.20 euros). Bad news for Moroccans, sixth in the world ranking of olive oil consumers.

At the origin of this price surge, several factors, including a supply severely impacted by the droughts of recent years. "There is no production, simply. It’s the effect of the law of supply and demand. Climate change has led to very low olive production in recent years. Drought is the cause of this situation. Even the areas that do not depend on rain but on irrigation are suffering, because their water allocation has been halved, it is a measure decided by the authorities, the dams being empty," explains Rachid Benali, president of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation of Olive (Interprolive).

Last year, Morocco recorded a decrease of 11% compared to the previous year, already catastrophic. During an intervention in Parliament at the end of 2024, the Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed El Bouari, confirmed that the national production of olives would not exceed 950,000 tons, "a drop of 40% compared to the usual averages". A volume of olives harvested that he considers insufficient to meet national consumption, estimated between 130,000 and 140,000 tons per year. This situation has a negative impact on oil mills. Nationwide, no less than 300 oil mills have had to close their doors, for lack of raw material to exploit, according to figures made public by the government.