Despite the importation of cattle for slaughter and other measures taken to preserve the national herd and protect the purchasing power of consumers, the prices of red meat are still continuing their upward trend.
Since early February, more than 10,000 cattle have been imported from Spain and Brazil to supply the national red meat market and regulate prices, which have risen sharply in recent months.
However, consumer protection associations have noted that meat prices are still on the rise and fluctuate between 90 and 100 dirhams per kilogram, despite the acceleration of the import and supply process.
For Bouazza Kherrati, president of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights, the import has no effect on the market price ” because ” those who imported the cattle do not want to go to slaughter, so that the market price does not drop“.
And to add: They are slaughtering little by little, which is against government policy, and the longer the calf rearing period, the more they consume, and the higher the price goes, and we miss the target, which is to reduce the price“.
Kherrati specifies, in his declaration to MoroccoLatestNews, that the solution which guarantees the right of the consumer is to “ set a maximum limit between import and slaughter, and whoever crosses it must pay a tax, so that this does not continue“.
Wadi Madih, President of the National Federation of Consumer Associations (FNAC), for his part, said: “ The price has hardly changed, according to our surveys, since the price of meat at butchers varies between 85 dirhams and 100 dirhams per kilogram. As for department stores and large butchers, this price is even higher because it depends on the type of part purchased.“.
” I import Brazilian meat for 3 euros, so where is it compared to the current price? It means that others have taken advantage of it” , he added.
In addition, the president of FNAC underlines that the government policy in this regard has “failed”, the announcement of the Executive specifies that ” these measures were taken to reduce the price of meat while this price has still not fallen“.
” The prices are the same, and even the prices of live calves on the markets fluctuate between 70 and 85 dirhams per kilogram. These are calves raised in Morocco, which means there is a real problem in government policy to limit high prices“, continues Madih.
He thus reaffirmed that despite the state’s efforts, the price of meat is too high“, noting that ” we know that the government made an effort, but it did not achieve the goal we wanted, that is to say the consumer, who always buys meat at a high price“.
Besides, ” prices are still on the rise despite the support of professionals in the transport sector. The solution is to no longer buy the products whose prices are rising, the citizen is certainly not obliged to consume meat or to consume large quantities of it. We are active consumers and we have the power to influence it“, explains Madih.