After the rise in the price of infant milk over the past three years (2020, 2021, 2022), estimated at 14.29%, a further increase is expected at the beginning of July, according to Bouazza Kherrati, president of the Moroccan Federation of consumer rights (FMDC), which has already sounded the alarm on this subject.
In addition to this increase of more than 14% in the price of infant milk over three years, the beginning of 2023 also saw a significant price increase, reaching 98 dirhams for a 400 g box (compared to 75 DH in 2020) and 146 dirhams for a 900 g box which cost 120 DH in 2020. This situation is pushing some families to replace pasteurized milk sold in pharmacies with cow’s milk not suitable for this age group because of its lower price.
The Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights (FMDC) had already denounced this increase in early June, noting a successive increase since 2020, ranging from 7% (3 dirhams) to 28% (24 dirhams), before alerting to a new outbreak as soon as the beginning of July.
Joined by MoroccoLatestNews UKBouazza Kherrati, president of the FMDC, told us that a new price increase will again affect infant milk.
Asked about the fact that the Federation had contacted the Ministry of Health on this subject, which remains unreachable even for the press, as well as the Directorate of Medicines and Pharmacy (DMP), Kherrati affirmed that he had sent many letters to the department. from Khalid Ait Taleb, but received no response.
“We therefore content ourselves with publishing press releases and alerting on this phenomenon”he said, recalling that civil society is a partner with whom we must work and interact to move things forward, in accordance with the texts of the law and the Constitution.
The community activist also recalled that the formula milk market is liberalized, which means that companies dictate the prices they want, in addition to ” anarchy in this sector, which is not regulated”he pointed out.
This increase in infant milk prices has been denounced not only by the FMDC, but also by public figures, such as Imane Aghoutane, the star presenter of Medi 1, who recently had a child and who noticed this increase, noting that “ if she can afford to pay these prices, other families cannot afford it”. She called on the state to respond quickly as needy families often replace this milk with cow’s milk which harms the health of infants.
Professionals also observed this increase in infant milk prices at the beginning of June. Dr. Bihi Youssef, pharmacist and vice-president of the Confederation of Pharmacists’ Unions of Morocco (CSPM), had confirmed the information toMoroccoLatestNews UKin a recent statement.
“We have seen a repetitive rise in the price of infant milk, to the point that it is practically inaccessible for certain categories of our customers. When we asked about the reasons for this increase, the response we received referred to the skyrocketing prices of aluminum packaging jars as well as logistics costs. In addition, there have been changes to inputs to comply with new requirements. However, we believe that these arguments are no longer valid today.“, explained to us Dr. Bihi.
Asked about the possibility of more rigorous control on the part of the supervisory ministry to remedy this price increase, Dr Bihi had indicated that it is indeed necessary to act on this aspect, especially given the fact that the pharmacists’ margin is regulated and does not exceed 15% on the selling price. A prior control of prices is therefore necessary, and investigations must also be carried out to control possible practices leading to deregulation of prices on the market, he concluded.
MoroccoLatestNews Fr tried to contact the Ministry of Health, in particular Bouchra Meddah, the director of medicine and pharmacy, but in vain. The line is completely cut.