Morocco will control seafood prices during Ramadan
Supplying the domestic market with affordable seafood products during Ramadan was the focus of a coordination meeting between the Minister of Agriculture, Marine Fisheries, Rural Development, Water Resources and Forestry, Mohamed Sadiki, and industry experts in Rabat.
The committee aims to ensure affordable prices and fair competition in the fishing industry during Ramadan, which is expected to begin in March this year. Morocco is setting up a monitoring committee to offer seafood products at low prices during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins in March this year.
At the meeting, ministers and experts from the Moroccan fishing industry agreed to set up a central committee to monitor the constant supply of high-quality seafood products on the domestic market. It also mobilises economic actors in the fishing sector to supply fresh and frozen fish to different cities according to their needs.
The committee's role will include daily price controls along the value chain, particularly in Morocco's wholesale and retail markets. During the meeting, Sadiki said the main objective of the meeting was to discuss key measures to ensure the supply of seafood products in all regions during the Holy Month.
This includes mobilising fishery operators to supply fresh and frozen seafood to various locations as needed, as well as establishing a central committee to ensure a continuous supply of high quality seafood in sufficient quantities for domestic markets.
He also emphasised the importance of local distribution while maintaining health and quality standards and advocated an integrated approach to improve responsiveness to consumer needs.
Larbi Mhidi, president of the Federation of Fisheries Chambers, attended the meeting and highlighted these efforts, including those initiated during the 2019 Ramadan season under the "Fish at a Reasonable Price" project, first launched by the Ministry of Fisheries in 2019 during Ramadan 1440, which was a great success and brought great benefits to the country. The operation, he said, "was a significant success at the national level, which provided citizens with the opportunity to buy premium products: high quality frozen fish, at responsible prices."
This meeting, which was attended by the presidents of the Chambers of Marine Fisheries, provided an opportunity to invite professionals to follow the action plan aimed at ensuring the constant supply of fish products in the national market during the holy month.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The date of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon by a special committee developed by the Islamic Ministry of Religious Affairs.
According to the National Fisheries Office (ONP), coastal and artisanal fish catches sold up to October 2023 exceeded 8.68 billion dirhams, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year. In its latest report on Morocco's coastal and artisanal fishery statistics, the ONP reported an 11 per cent decline in these landings by weight, to 1.1 million tonnes (MT).
The value of coastal and artisanal fishery products landed in Atlantic ports increased by 7% to over 8.14 billion dirhams. In weight, these ports decreased by 11% to 1.09 MT. Marine and artisanal fish landed at the entrance of Mediterranean ports decreased by 1% in value to 536.15 billion dirhams and by 6% in weight to 14,950 tonnes.