HIBAPRESS – Abdellatif Baraka
After years of record-high prices for olive oil, which burdened the Moroccan consumer and made this vital material out of reach for wide segments, citizens breathed a sigh of relief with the beginning of a noticeable decline in prices during the current season. However, this shift was not met with the same welcome by a number of olive producers, who found themselves facing a new reality that did not align with their aspirations to restore previous price levels.
While the consumer was hoping for a permanent stability in prices, it seemed that some producers did not like the idea of selling olives at an affordable price for everyone, as if the situation implied that a return to high prices was a standing demand, despite the transformations the market is experiencing.
According to field data from a number of agricultural areas, including Al Haouz and Kalaat Es-Sraghna, olive prices continued their downward trend to stabilize at less than four dirhams per kilogram, which put many farmers in a critical situation, especially with the increase in harvesting costs due to the lack of labor.
Farmers and farm owners confirm that the cost of harvesting one kilogram of olives may exceed two dirhams, especially when adopting the "milking" technique, with an unprecedented scarcity in seasonal labor, which makes the profit margin almost non-existent under the current prices, and even likely to decline further in the coming days.
In contrast, they believe that the crisis is not only related to the abundance of local products, but is intertwined with other factors, including the facilities granted to olive oil importers, considering that the recourse of major national producers to import thousands of tons from Spain and Tunisia during the end of last year has disrupted the national market, and weakened the competitiveness of the local product, in the absence of decisive intervention from the competent authorities.
However, what is noticeable this season is that the abundance of national production has prevented the so-called "price lobby" from imposing new increases, as happened in previous years, where the abundant supply seemed stronger than all attempts to control the market or direct prices towards rising again.
In light of this situation, farmers are demanding urgent intervention from the Ministry of Agriculture and other concerned sectors, in order to find a fair balance between protecting the consumer and ensuring the sustainability of the Moroccan product, through incentive policies and regulatory measures that ensure market stability without harming any party.
