Sardine Prices Skyrocket in Morocco, Impacting Households and Industry

The kilo of sardine costs 35 dirhams in certain regions of the kingdom. The surge in sardine prices is explained by the phenomenon of climate change, which has led to currents that have caused the sardine shoals to move away, the law of supply and demand, in the coastal areas, but also a strong demand. Several fish processing industrialists are planning to increase their production capacities and are buying the kilo of sardine at 9 dirhams instead of 4 dirhams. As for the exporters, they would have opted for a rise in prices on the market in order to resell at an affordable price on the European market, at around 5 euros per kilo. "Some operators surveyed point to lobbying carried out at the port level. The price is already soaring before reaching the fish market," reports the newspaper Les Inspirations Éco. "We are unable to determine the intermediary responsible for this dysfunction," laments an operator quoted by the daily.

According to the Federation of Maritime Fisheries (FPM), these disturbances are negatively impacting mass consumption, but also the value chain, due to the imbalance caused at the level of the fishing areas. The configuration of the sardine being just as important for coastal fishing as for RSW (refrigerated) vessels, "any impact on availability poses a problem at the level of the entire value chain, including processing plants, which is currently the case." To reverse the trend, the FMP has addressed recommendations to the public authorities. It proposes in particular to proceed with a zoning which should be determined by the authorities concerned. Some professionals expect an intervention from the supervisory ministry through control missions by the competent commission. Others express the wish to see the Competition Council enter this file.