فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Ahmad Al-Abadi, a member of parliament from the Progress and Socialism Party in the House of Representatives, has submitted a written question to the Secretary of State to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, responsible for fisheries, regarding the negative impact of speculation on the final fish prices in Moroccan markets.
Al-Abadi explained in his question that a young man in Marrakech, known as “Moul Al-Hout” (the Fish Man), sparked a wide controversy on social media for his initiative of selling fish at affordable prices for citizens, with sardines priced around 5 dirhams per piece. In contrast, he pointed out that prices in markets are often unjustifiably high due to the involvement of intermediaries and speculators who inflate prices to astronomical figures without any regulation.
The parliamentarian reminded that Morocco, with its coastline extending 3,500 kilometers on both the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, has a huge fish wealth. However, this wealth does not reflect on market prices, as citizens are forced to pay between 20 to 30 dirhams for sardines, which contradicts Morocco’s natural potential that should contribute to ensuring national food security, not the opposite.
Al-Abadi also referenced the government measures announced, such as digitizing public auctions in 34 fish markets, the availability of 70 wholesale fish markets at ports and landing points, and 10 second-hand wholesale markets outside the ports. While these measures seem positive on paper, the citizen does not feel their actual impact in reducing prices, requiring more effective government intervention.
In conclusion, Al-Abadi called for monitoring the entire fish sales and marketing process, from unloading ships to the arrival of fish at markets, reducing the number of intermediaries, particularly speculators and monopolists who unjustly raise prices. He emphasized the importance of combating the unregulated sale of fish, asserting that the supply and demand logic should not justify excessive prices that negatively affect citizens’ purchasing power.
Source: Fes News Media
