Soaring Sheep Prices Threaten Eid al-Adha Celebrations in Morocco

Despite the assurance of the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, who declared on May 9 before parliament that Eid al-Adha will not be canceled and that the Executive is working to regulate prices to ensure sufficient availability of sheep, the concern is gaining ground among many Moroccans who wonder if they will be able to make the sacrifice this year marked by unprecedented inflation close to 10%.

According to forecasts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, the price of sheep should increase by 15 to 25% compared to last year. But the increase could reach 40% due to the drought that is hitting the kingdom hard, the worst recorded in 40 years according to breeders, and the inflation of the prices of the inputs necessary for fattening the animals, conflict between Russia and Ukraine. A difficult situation to live with for low-income Moroccan households, whose purchasing power has considerably diminished.

For its part, the government maintains the celebration of Eid al-Adha. To control the surge in prices, it had decided to import one million sheep from Spain, Italy and Romania to reach 6.5 million animals, against an estimated demand of 5.5 million. For the moment, we are still far from the target. A digital campaign with the hashtag #cancellation of Eid al-Adha has been launched by Internet users, faced with the high price of sheep and goats.

Many Moroccans are seriously considering giving up the celebration of Eid scheduled for late June. Others still want to perform this ritual. But they will have to pay a high price, because the rise in the price of sheep is added to that of food products which is 16.8%, according to the HCP. In addition, Moroccans, at the beginning of the summer season, will have to choose between celebrating Eid al-Adha or going on vacation. For some, the choice is already made.