Sheep Prices Plummet in Morocco Ahead of Aid Al Adha Due to COVID-19 Surplus

"You have to know that there is a surplus from last year, and thousands of heads were not sold. Added to this is the mandatory confinement and therefore the ban on wedding ceremonies, baptisms, circumcisions. [...] There are weddings where 100 sheep are sacrificed but because of the global pandemic related to the new coronavirus Covid-19, we could not sell our livestock. Also, restaurants specializing in mechoui buy 10 to 15 sheep a day. This means that the surplus is colossal," explains the breeder in an interview with Al Bayane.

As a result, the price of sheep has been devalued. "The sheep that was worth 2000 DH last year is negotiable around 1300-1500 DH," he says, adding that for each sheep, there is a drop of 500 to 700 DH compared to last year. According to Mohamed Mounir, this situation benefits the merchants. "Usually we raise our livestock all year round to sell it at the best price during this holiday season. But it turns out that this year, the merchants will do much better business than us breeders. [...] They can earn up to 500 DH per head while for us, since we are forced to sell in bulk, given the current situation, we earn 50 DH per head," he explains. A real disaster.