Another difficult year awaits for the olive growing sector in Morocco. While the olive tree still faces drought, Moroccans will still face an increase in olive oil prices.
The production of oil the olive industry in Morocco is facing a serious crisis. Between the drop in production and the skyrocketing prices as well as the risk of the oil mills closing, players in this sector no longer know where to turn.
Morocco: a liter of olive oil for almost €15
“Oil will sell at 150 DH (almost €15) per liter next year,” Kamal Ben Khaled, deputy of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), was indignant on July 23, while the minimum wage is 3,422 dirhams, or slightly less than 342 Euro.
When he asked the Minister of Agriculture, Mohamed Sadiki, he also condemned the prices of olive trees, which he said are sold at 15 dirhams.
In fact, olive oil which was sold in Morocco at around 90 DH per liter at the beginning of the year, now sold at 140 DH per liters in certain regions of the Kingdom, an increase of 55%, making the MP’s fears largely justified. In 2021, its price did not exceed 50 dirhams.
In addition to the price of olive oil, which is experiencing a significant jump, the MP also fears “the closure of oil mills and the dismissal of their employees”. He specifies that 65 olive processing factories are at risk of shutting down, reports Le 360. A prospect that would worsen unemployment, which is already high in Morocco. By 2023, drought will cause the loss of 300,000 jobs in the agricultural sector.
Morocco will not export its olive oil this year
For the minister, this situation is primarily due to the extreme heat, but also speculation. Although he mentioned the drought problem, which is causing production to fall and olive oil prices to rise in Morocco, the manager also actually acknowledged that sales are being rushed even before the start of the harvest.
Thus, insufficient quantities of olives are sold at exorbitant prices, explains the minister, for whom one of the solutions remains the suspension of the import of olive oil this year. A measure already adopted by the government, reports Maroc Diplomatique.
Professionals want urgent measures
The same source emphasizes that this is an “unprecedented crisis”, which is mainly caused by heat, low rainfall and lack of irrigation.
In addition to drought, professionals interviewed by Hespress also blame “the spread of diseases such as verticillium wilt and the occurrence of pests such as the olive fly. »
After a difficult year for the sector, the regional association of olive growers in the Marrakech-Safi region was alarmed by the non-flowering of olive trees, which means a decrease in production in 2024. Confused, professionals in the sector are asking the government to take urgent measures to deal with the situation, such as stopping exports, financial support, combating speculation, research programs to combat diseases affecting olive trees.
