Orange Prices Soar in Morocco, Reaching Record Highs in Casablanca

The scarcity of oranges in this season, which is not the harvest season for this fruit, justifies this significant and unprecedented price increase. "There are several varieties of oranges, including those for juice production. Their price is very high, due to the end of the harvest season, which ends in July," explains Abderrazak Chabbi, president of the Casablanca Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market Association, to Assabah, specifying that the price of oranges on the wholesale fruit and vegetable market is negotiated between 9 and 13 dirhams per kilo.

As for mandarins and clementines, they are produced in Larache and their price varies between 3.5 and 5.5 dirhams per kilo depending on their quality, he details, adding that Navel oranges arrive on the markets three or four weeks after the mandarins and clementines. Abderrazak Chabbi did not fail to reassure angry consumers about this record price increase of oranges, announcing that "in two weeks, oranges from Gharb and Marrakech will appear, and the arrival of Navels will help compensate for the lack of juice oranges, which will in turn be marketed".

The president of the Casablanca Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market Association also points out that exports are the cause of this rise in orange prices, which affects the purchasing power of Moroccans and their consumption habits. "Unfortunately, there are many people who are greedy for quick gains and easy enrichment, who disregard the food security of Moroccans. This security is nevertheless the main guarantee of social peace, which has become very fragile because of these waves of price increases," he said.