Sardine Prices Skyrocket in Morocco, Sparking Consumer Outrage

A single crate of sardines at auction at the port of Beni Ensar costs 2000 dirhams, and the price per kilogram is 100 dirhams. Enough to provoke the indignation of many citizens, especially those with limited incomes, who are struggling to obtain them. On the web, they express their anger. The increase in sardine prices today is due to limited supply and high demand, the price of a crate of sardines having reached 2000 dirhams at the port of Beni Ensar due to the availability of only 6 crates during the auction, explained the president of the Badr Association of fish, meat, poultry and vegetable merchants of the central market of Nador.

According to his explanations reported by Nadorcity, this price surge is mainly related to the needs of restaurants that have competed to obtain this limited quantity. But these clarifications are far from convincing consumers. According to them, the price of sardines in times of abundance does not drop below 25 dirhams per kilogram in Nador, a price that is not even found in the inland cities of Morocco that do not have a coastline or a fishing port. They point an accusing finger at "the greed of brokers and intermediaries who exploit people’s need to eat to make huge profits, thus threatening the stability of the country."

Faced with this situation, consumers call on the government and local authorities "to act immediately to put an end to this corruption that is rampant in the markets and affects the lives of citizens, whether it is fish, poultry or even vegetables, which have also reached exorbitant prices due to brokers and large exporters who empty the markets to fill their pockets in euros."