The high-level inter-ministerial commission responsible for monitoring the state of supply of national markets held its second meeting on Thursday at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior in Rabat on monitoring the prices of basic foodstuffs as well as as the supervision and reinforcement of the interventions of the control services.
Composed of the Ministers of the Interior, Economy and Finance, Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Industry and Trade and the Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, the Commission examined, during its meeting, the means of implementing the various measures necessary to meet the needs of the national market and guarantee a sufficient and regular stock of all basic products, in addition to the measures aimed at preserve consumer safety and purchasing power.
In a statement to the press, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Seddiki, indicated that this meeting was devoted to the evaluation of the modes of implementation of the measures taken by the government to avoid soaring prices, ensuring that the national market is supplied “continuously” with basic foodstuffs.
He also explained that the rise in the prices of certain food products by, among other things, the high cost of production as well as the vagaries of the weather, predicting a drop in prices during this spring with the abundant harvest of certain vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes.
Referring, moreover, to the balance to be achieved between the supply of the national market and exports, the Minister affirmed that priority is always given to the national market as evidenced by the ban on exporting tomatoes decreed for weeks.
He also indicated that the control commissions will accompany the sales operations in the wholesale markets as well as the manufacturing units of certain products whose prices have soared and this, he maintains, in order to achieve an equivalence between the price of the raw materials used in the said products and that in force on the international market.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Riyad Mezzour, declared that this second meeting of the said commission was an opportunity to examine “the means as well as the innovative solutions likely to counter the soaring prices foodstuffs with the aim of preserving the purchasing power of citizens”.
He mentioned, in this regard, new solutions that are under daily review in the centers and regions, noting that the prices of some products will remain unchanged in the weeks and months to come while some prices begin already to fall, as is the case with the tomato.
For her part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah assured that the products generally widely consumed in the month of Ramadan are in sufficient quantity in the national markets, noting that the volume of production expected in the coming days will have certainly a positive impact on prices.
While emphasizing the efforts made by the local authorities and all the departments to control the markets, she, with supporting figures, reported the control of no less than 60,000 points of sale since the beginning of the month of Chaâbane in 5th day of Ramadan and this, in order to fight against speculation.
Similarly, the Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, indicated that this meeting was marked by the mention of the structural reforms necessary to solve the problems at the origin of the price increase, especially in wholesale markets.
Regarding the energy component, she assured that the existing stock meets energy needs for more than 40 days, indicating that the second phase of the energy efficiency experiment will be studied until the summer. next and this, in order to ensure the necessary stock including electricity.