With the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, and while the rise in prices of several products continues in Morocco, Moroccans fear an even greater outbreak during the holy month of Ramadan, normally scheduled for March 22. In this sense, several professional players have raised the decline in the influx of customers on the markets and the drop in demand on several products and foods intended for the preparation of dishes and ” Chhiwates well before the arrival of Ramadan, and this, in most of the markets of Casablanca, attributing this to the high prices of several products and the purchasing power of the citizens who have been strongly affected due to the succession of crisis.
Professional sources have pointed to the low demand for basic consumer products and foods that adorn the tables of the Ftourpointing out that this economic situation is not new, but rather began in 2020, the year of the outbreak of the pandemic, which was followed by various financial difficulties.
Thus, the same professional sources have observed that the markets no longer experience the usual crowd movement during this period as in previous years, noting that attendance is mainly limited to food and consumer products stores, while clothing and accessories stores have been stagnating for some time.
Secretary General of the Association of Merchants and Professionals of Derb Omar, Said Farah indicated that ” commercial transactions have actually decreased, unlike usual during the month of Ramadan “, emphasizing that “ all consumer products are abundantly available in the markets “.
In a statement to MoroccoLatestNewsSaid Farah pointed out that “ local food products have been impacted by the wave of rising prices on the markets, while imported products are sold at very reasonable prices after the fall in the price of international shipping“.
» The shipping price of imported goods fell from 20 million cents (200,000 Dh) per container to only 4 million (40,000 Dh), which contributed to a very significant drop in the prices of goods imported from abroad“, he explained, noting” that there is absolutely no shortage of foodstuffs, on the contrary, the products are abundant with the month of Ramadan approaching, when the demand increases mainly for flour, wheat and dates”he specified.
Abdeslam Kassari, merchant of SoukiHafari in Casablanca, very well known under the name of ” Kissariate Hafari »stated that ” trade stagnation has been weighing on market traders for days, due to deteriorating purchasing power of customers who limit themselves to buying certain basic products only “.
In this regard, the same interlocutor stressed to MoroccoLatestNews that ” the merchants themselves did not prepare for the month of Ramadan as usual due to the current economic and social situation, the same for the customers“, he pointed out.
The same trader confirmed that ” the markets were very crowded a week before the month of Ramadan, but the situation has changed dramatically since the pandemic and global economic developments which have negatively affected the purchasing power of citizens “.