El Parlamento de Marruecos convoca una sesión para abordar el aumento de los precios del combustible

Morocco's parliament will hold a session on Wednesday to discuss rising fuel prices. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the price of petrol has soared in the Kingdom, as it has in many other countries. According to UK Treasury data collected by Le360, VAT on imports of energy products has increased by 27% during the first two months of 2022.

This has provoked unrest within some sectors of the country, such as transporters, who in mid-March called strikes to express their discontent. In response, Rabat announced measures to compensate for the price increases.

With the aim of continuing to seek solutions to the current crisis, the House of Representatives will hold this session, where the Minister of Ecological Transition, Leila Benali, will be present. The parliamentary debate was postponed last week, a decision criticised by the political opposition, who accused the government of "evasion" and "trying to evade" the issue. On Wednesday, in addition to the fuel price hike, the government's programme and measures to strengthen energy security will be discussed.  

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch acknowledged the current difficulties facing the nation, but also conveyed a message of calm. In addition to high fuel prices, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in the cost of certain foodstuffs such as wheat, since most of Morocco's wheat exports come from Ukraine, which is considered the breadbasket of Europe. In addition to the European continent, many North African countries depend on Ukrainian wheat. In this sense, Egypt is also suffering the consequences of the conflict.

"We are not in a common situation. Things are complicated and there is a problem with the supply of raw materials, whose prices have risen significantly, such as energy and food, especially cereals, and a series of materials that are of interest to the construction sector," Akhannouch acknowledged in statements reported by the Al-Arab newspaper. In addition to the external problems directly affecting Morocco, the country is also suffering from a major internal challenge: the worst drought in three decades.

However, Akhannouch also wanted to reassure the Moroccan people, assuring them that despite the global crisis and its repercussions on Morocco and the world, "products are plentiful and the country has sufficient organisation to supply these materials". 

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, all countries dependent on Ukrainian materials have developed measures to mitigate the effects of the war. In the case of Morocco, the government has made an effort to import large quantities of wheat between January and February, something that will reinforce the storage volume of the country's granaries, as government spokesman Mustafa Baitas explained at the end of February. "There will be an impact on prices, but it will not affect the supply of our market. The government will bear the cost of this price bill," he said, according to EFE.