Morocco Faces Olive Oil Shortage as Prices Soar to Record Levels

"The current situation indicates that production will be lower than normal, which will directly affect the availability of oil on the markets. The oil currently available comes only from last season’s production, while the stock for this season will be limited, which increases the likelihood of a price increase," said a member of the office of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation of Olive to the Al3omk website. The price of a liter of olive oil has risen considerably, reaching record levels between 110 and 130 dirhams.

Faced with this unprecedented olive oil crisis, Morocco has stepped up imports of olive oil. Olive oil imports have jumped from 32 million dirhams last year to 111 million dirhams last January, an increase of 79 million dirhams compared to the same period the previous year, according to data from the Foreign Exchange Office. In the expert’s eyes, the import of olive oil appears to be a quick solution to the drop in production and the rise in prices, but this option is not ideal. To support his argument, he explains that resorting to imports could plunge us into a permanent cycle of dependence on foreign countries, as has happened in several other sectors. "Sustainable solutions lie in strengthening local production, not in import policies that could negatively impact the local market and farmers," he is convinced.

He will continue: "Morocco has always been known as a producer of olive oil, and resorting to imports is contradictory to the strategic vision established by the Green Morocco Plan, whose objective is to increase olive oil production and achieve self-sufficiency in this vital matter."