Opacity surrounds poultry prices, and the vicissitudes of prices remain inexplicable. 20 dirhams per kilogram, in a country that produces 900,000 tons of poultry meat and almost 7 billion eggs annually. When asked by “L’Opinion”, Chaouki Jirari, director of the Interprofessional Federation of the Poultry Sector in Morocco (FISAM), said that poultry prices have only increased this week, and this is due to cyclical factors.
The official said that the supply is lower than demand during the summer period. Indeed, during the summer in Morocco, and due to the arrival of Moroccans living abroad (MRE), the supply never manages to comply with the demand, the latter outstrips the supply in a way impossible to compensate. Because the strong heat during the summer cause a decline in production, and as the supply is declining.
In addition, producers in Morocco are still suffering from the repercussions of the health crisis, because of which many of them have succumbed to its heavy impact, there are even those who have gone bankrupt and this has led to the reduction of production of this crop in Morocco. In this period, the Moroccan producer sold its products at derisory prices, almost 6 dirhams per kilogram, while the main customers, such as hotels, restaurants, the tourist sector in general, were all absent from the economic scene, which has maintained the superiority of supply over demand, so the prices were within reach of the population, says FISAM.
Structural and cyclical deficiencies
After the recovery, another factor suffocates this branch, in this case the Russian-Ukrainian crisis which, in turn, has impacted the poultry industry. Indeed, two foods are essential in the breeding, including corn and soybeans, that this conflict between the two major producers has squarely suspended the supply of these two substances. This has obviously led to an increase in production prices, says our interlocutor. However, these issues have given rise to the soaring psychological cost of production that oscillated between 12 and 12.50 dirhams, while currently it oscillates between 16 and 16.50 dirhams. The production of eggs is exposed to the same issues. Added to this is the lack of state subsidy for this sector. In addition, we must add the cost of veterinary care, labor and diesel.
Youssef El Alaoui, president of FISAM, highlighted the issues surrounding this sector, which often causes misunderstandings of the population, while public opinion must understand its “delicate” situation. “The sector is not subsidized by the state, yet it is hit hard, like other agricultural branches. The price increases have their explanations, two years of the health crisis have suffocated farmers. Without state aid, the sector must continue its instability.
It should be noted that Morocco has obtained, last July, the possibility of exporting to the European Union (EU) of poultry meat products. A significant agreement, given the size of the EU market of 450 million consumers. For the year 2021, the production of poultry meat (broiler and turkey) reached 640,000 tons (MT), up only 1% compared to 2020.
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