The fruit that Moroccans used to consume for free at the source, the prickly pear or “Indian” (or “kermous” depending on the region of the kingdom), is no longer what it used to be. Once accessible to all, this fruit saw its price explode this summer due to the invasion of a mysterious parasitic insect, the cochineal, which ravaged the majority of prickly pear fields, thus reducing supply and increasing prices in an unprecedented way.
This summer, the price of a prickly pear varies between 5 and 10 dirhams depending on the type and quality of the product, with an average price of 7 dirhams per unit in most cities. In previous years, the price of this fig did not exceed one dirham, and a basket of figs was sold wholesale for around 30 dirhams, compared to nearly 500 dirhams this year.
According to official data, the cultivation of prickly pear covers an area of 120,000 hectares. However, the production of this fruit has been strongly impacted in recent years by a cochineal virus that has destroyed about 90% of the cultivated areas. Climatic conditions have also contributed to the increase in prices, with a 30% drop in rainfall over the last ten years in the regions producing this summer fruit.
In addition, activists attribute the price rise to the growing interest of agricultural cooperatives in extracting prickly pear oils used in the manufacture of cosmetic products, which are among the most expensive in the world.
