Rising Vegetable Prices Impacting Casablanca's Households
The surge in vegetable prices across the markets of Casablanca has become a pressing concern for consumers, affecting their purchasing power significantly. Currently, the prices for essential vegetables have skyrocketed, with tomatoes priced around 10 dirhams per kilo, potatoes and onions ranging from 4.5 to 6 dirhams, carrots between 4 to 5 dirhams, zucchinis at 10 to 11 dirhams, green beans priced at 14 to 15 dirhams, and peas costing between 15 to 16 dirhams. This alarming increase in vegetable prices comes alongside rising costs for other essential food items, including both red and white meats and fish, placing additional strain on household budgets.
Professionals in the agricultural sector are pointing to several factors contributing to this crisis. According to Abdelkabir Maïden, a trader at the Casablanca wholesale market for fruits and vegetables, the extreme heatwaves that struck Morocco in September have significantly damaged agricultural crops, particularly in the Souss region. Moreover, the current seasonal transition has coincided with a delicate period, marked by the end of the harvest season in areas surrounding Casablanca, such as Gharb, Doukkala, Abda, and Skhirat, and the delayed start of harvests in Agadir, which has struggled to supply the domestic market due to thermal stress on crops.
Maïden further emphasizes that the pressure from exports has exacerbated the price hikes, as production zones like Agadir face high demand from African, European, and Asian markets. This intense export pressure complicates the local supply situation. Additionally, the rise in production costs is another significant factor behind the increasing prices. The agricultural and production systems are grappling with major structural challenges, including soaring fuel prices, labor shortages, and the escalating costs of fertilizers and raw materials both nationally and internationally.
Despite the availability of goods in the market, commercial activity in Casablanca is experiencing a marked slowdown, with markets struggling to sell products at the desired pace due to the diminished purchasing power of consumers. Aziz Jameh, a wholesale onion trader in the same market, explains that while onions are indeed available, their prices are heavily influenced by the rates set by farmers. He notes that the price for yellow onions ranges between 94 and 96 dirhams per crate at the production site, which escalates to approximately 110 dirhams once transported to the market. The price for red onions is around 5 dirhams at the farmer level, but after transportation and handling costs, they are sold at 6 dirhams in the wholesale market.
Jameh insists that the high prices of onions can be attributed to the adverse weather conditions, including the rainfall and heat experienced in Morocco last September, which hindered the supply of onions sufficient to last through to March. He highlights that the Fès-Meknès region serves as the primary granary that supplies the entire Kingdom with onions for six months, from October to April.
As reported by fr.le360.ma.
