Olive oil prices skyrocket. It is close to ten euros on the black market, which accounts for 85% of consumption in the Maghreb country Professional associations warn of the health dangers of consuming olive oil purchased in bulk in Morocco due to the lack of controls Drought and high The cost of transport, which affects the irrigation and harvesting of the olive, predict a poor production this year, which will increase prices even more“The bulk sale of olive oil is a cancer for the profession that is unable to advance if it does not wage a passionate and effective debate against this commercial disease.” The forceful words are from the president of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation of Olives (Interprolive), Rachid Benali, in the weekly Maroc Hebdo last week. 85% of Moroccan consumption of green gold occurs in the informal market where, despite Due to the lack of quality controls, olive oil is more expensive than what is found in stores, and it also reaches record prices this season: up to 100 dirhams – more than nine euros – per liter. The cause lies in the perfect storm that we are experiencing at the end of 2022: a shortage of olives on an international scale due to drought, an increase in fuel prices and, therefore, transport and other agricultural tasks. An exorbitant price for a society whose average monthly salary barely reaches 370 euros, and also hit hard in recent months by the economic depression and the cost of living. More green gold than ever. “The price of olive oil has risen due to the scarcity of water. This year certain families will not be able to buy olive oil because of its exorbitant prices”, explains an owner of an oil mill in the province of El Kelaa des Sraghna, near Marrakech, to digital Le360. Not in vain, farmers sell a kilo of olives between 8.5 and 9 dirhams (approximately 85 euro cents), which contrasts with the usual margin of 3-6 dirhams per kilo. The olive oil trap The truth is that old customs are difficult to abandon, and this is the case of the deep-rooted habit among Moroccans of going to the black market to buy and sell olive oil in bulk. After all, they had always done so. Souks, street markets or on the roads of the olive-growing regions, such as Fez and Meknes… Or buy directly from a relative, friend or acquaintance with their own or a nearby oil mill. What is the reason why Moroccans distrust of the oil sold in supermarkets, where more and more brands of extra virgin and organic olive oil can be found? “To a large extent it is due to a false perception that Moroccan consumers develop. They believe that it is a product of the land and that its taste is original and better than normal. Something that is completely false. It is an oil that is not controlled and that comes from informal production circuits that are often unhealthy”, replies the president of Interprolive in the same Moroccan publication.09/23/2022
The price of a liter of olive oil in Maroc cost between 80 jusqu’ to 90 dirhams, the incredible price. Ici in Angleterre nous payons 15 livres for a drum of five liters (5) d’huile. Quinze livres converti in dihams= 186 dirhams for five litres. Le salaire doit être haut https://t.co/dHJeRkosAk— Sam Abdelaoui (@maraval946) October 23, 2022 “We usually buy it directly from the producer, and like me, most families of my environment Last year he bought five-litre bottles at a price of 55 dirhams per liter (just under 5.5 euros per litre). This already costs between 80 and 100 dirhams -approximately between 8 and 10 euros- a liter, it has become very expensive, and we have preferred at home to buy it in the supermarket, where it is not cheap but costs less than 70 dirhams (a little less than 7 euros) per liter”, explained to NIUS the Rabatí Fouad Khatla, 40 years old, an employee of the international cooperation sector and a habitual consumer of olive oil at home. “The problem, Khatla complains, is that the producers Moroccans sell a large part of their bulk oil production to Spain, where it passes for Spanish and is labeled and marketed there, and here we hardly have our own bottled oil. There are few Moroccan brands and people prefer to buy it in bulk: it’s a vicious circle.” A health hazard The lack of controls, starting with transport -often in unlabeled bottles, which are nothing but reused mineral water containers-, constitutes a danger for the health of consumers, according to professionals in the olive oil sector in Morocco. Although the perception of the danger of consumption is low among Moroccans, there have been cases in recent years of the sale of oil – and other processed products on the black market – adulterated. In December 2018, the digital Le360 echoed the information that a brand of “fake olive oil” was being sold in markets in different parts of Morocco. It was a “solution made from chemical products from Spain and that resemble olive oil”, it was written in the Moroccan media. But despite the fact that the majority of consumers – they are convinced that they buy the highest quality, the extra virgin, in the informal sector – go directly to the producers to buy a product that does not go through sanitary controls, one of the great paradoxes of the circuit of Moroccan olive oil is that what is purchased on the black market is significantly more expensive than what is found in official stores. Although it is still very high in relation to income per inhabitant, it is possible to find a liter of oil from extra virgin olive oil in supermarkets notably cheaper, for between 60 and 70 dirhams, which is roughly equivalent to between six and seven euros, than the one that is bought in bulk, which, as has been recorded, is normally between the 80 and 90 dirhams per liter (between 8 and 9 euros), and has exceeded these figures. The perception of Moroccan public opinion is, in short, divided on the issue: one part, the majority, the fo There are consumers convinced that there is no danger in buying olive oil in bulk in the informal sector and will continue to do so, who see complaints from professional associations as an interested lobby; another, still a minority, opts each time for acquiring green gold in supermarkets and official distribution networks. The professionals of the sector, the most affected by the paradox of the Moroccan market, hope that the different administrations will help increase the consumption of olive oil in the official commercial circuits by launching awareness campaigns aimed at consumers. olive oil is somewhat prohibitive for families with lower incomes in Morocco, who are forced to cook almost exclusively with sunflower oil. A basic product in the shopping basket of the North African population that has also suffered a significant increase in prices as a result of the war in Ukraine and that in recent weeks seems to have returned to relative normality. Not only prices influence the greater predilection of Moroccans for sunflower oil compared to olive oil. Also historical. “In my house, and in millions of homes in Morocco, olive oil was perceived as a food for the poor, which was not used in gastronomy except to be eaten with bread. That, bread with oil and mint tea with a lot of sugar, was the basis of our breakfasts and snacks. Later, since the 2000s, the benefits of olive oil began to be emphasized and its consumption began to grow and replace that of sunflower”, explains Rachid Belamine, a 43-year-old businessman from Rabatí, to NIUS. The poor harvest anticipates more risesThe sector’s forecast for this year’s harvest is not encouraging. The combined effect of the intense drought that Morocco is experiencing -the worst in three decades and, about to end in October, the situation shows no sign of improving- and the technical problems in harvesting -caused, in turn, by the rise in fuel prices as a result of the war in the Ukraine – portend bad numbers for farmers. Thousands of families will see their income drop in the coming months. And this will necessarily result in a rise in prices in both the informal and formal sectors. The poor prospects for the 2022-2023 season for the olive sector contrast with the good data for the previous one, which marked an increase of 21%. -a total of 1.96 million tons of olives- compared to the previous year. In addition, the volume of olive oil exported in the first eight months of this year doubled compared to the same period of the previous year. The value of sales increased much more, 47%, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture. In the last fifteen years, Morocco has promoted olive production, which already accounts for 65% of the country’s tree area. A part of these exports is destined for Europe, where Moroccan or Tunisian oil compete with Spanish. The rise in prices linked to the drop in Spanish production will consequently have a beneficial effect on Moroccan raw materials. In an interview with the digital Hespress, the head of the Moroccan Association of Olive Growers and Water Economists, Hamid Sabri, recently acknowledged that “despite the circumstances, there is something good in Morocco. All the mills are working, and if it rains this month, it will have a positive effect”.