Doha – A new joint survey by the news agency L’Economiste and the marketing company Sunergia shows that 38% of Moroccans consume fish once a week, while 30% eat fish several times a week.
The study, published Today shows that 19% of the interviewed fish consume twice a month, 4% less than eating fish and another 4% do not consume any fish at all.
The survey also discovers shared perceptions in relation to the availability of fish in Morocco. While 34% of the Moroccans believe that fish are more available compared to previous years, the report reduced availability by 35%.
Women in particular improved the availability of 38%. Age 43% of the 55-64 year olds and 39% of the 18 to 24 year olds indicate the availability. Regional differences show that North and East Morocco has better availability with 42%.
Why not reach Morocco fish Moroccan tables?
In a parliamentary meeting on January 21, Minister of Agriculture Ahmed Bouari confronted Strong criticism of fish prices and availability. The minister led the declining fish populations to drought, an assertion that is strongly printed on export data in contrast.
Official statistics show the fishing sector in Morocco recorded Exports worth $ 31 billion (3.1 billion US dollars) in 2023 with a harvest of 847,000 tons. The MAD sector invested 930 million in operation and maintains over 126,000 direct jobs.
European trade figures further question the minister’s drought. Morocco dominates EU sardine imports in non-EU countries and dominates 93% of imports.
The fish exports to the EU reached 1.61 billion euros in 2022. The Spanish imports of 40% have increased from 91.6 million kilograms to 130.3 million kilograms since 2018 alone.
In the meantime, domestic consumers are exposed to strong prices, whereby sardines – traditionally considered the “fish of the poor man” are now up to 20 ($ 2) per kilogram in the local markets up to MAD 20 (USD). This happens despite the advantageous geography of Morocco with two seas and 3,500 kilometers of coast.
The price differences between wholesale and retail markets is astronomical. Sardines sometimes sell 3 per kilogram of wholesale, but reaches MAD 20 on the retail markets.
Market intermediaries, which are known locally as “Chnnaqa”, check the distribution of fish and add unjustified costs in each distribution level, which means that prices are significantly inflated without effective supervision.
These middlemen often buy large quantities of wholesale markets and create artificial shortage of care and price increases.
A parliamentary member criticized the minister during the session and searched: “They buried the poorest Moroccans with these prices. Have some respect for your intelligence. Shame on you!”
This happened when the prices for red meat exceeded the MAD 120 ($ 12) per kilogram, while the poultry was between 25 and 30 ($ 2.50 to $ 3).
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