Bananas and apples for 20 dirhams.. Has high prices become the norm in the market?

Agadir24

The Moroccan fruit market is witnessing a skyrocketing price increase for bananas and apples, with the price of one kilogram reaching 20 dirhams, an unprecedented record.

This sudden increase in the price of these two fruits, which Moroccans greatly buy, has sparked a wave of resentment and anger among many people, who have criticised their transformation from a popular fruit available to everyone to a luxury commodity that is difficult to buy in light of the difficult economic conditions experienced by many Moroccan families.

According to professionals, the reasons for the increase are mainly due to the lack of supply, as they point out that local production of bananas during the summer is very small, in addition to the high cost of importing bananas due to a severe crisis resulting from natural disasters and bad weather conditions.

Regarding apples, they confirmed that apples are not available in the wholesale market today, but rather there are only small quantities that were stored in the “frigo” because it is not their season, and thus their price reached 20 dirhams in some areas and 25 dirhams in other areas.

They agreed that the multiplicity of intermediaries plays an important role in the rise in prices, as a single shipment of bananas, apples and other fruits is sold about six times in the markets before it reaches the citizens.

In response to this issue, Abdel Razzaq Al-Shabi, President of the Wholesale Market Association for Vegetables and Fruits, revealed that there is a severe shortage in production due to weak rainfall and successive years of drought, in addition to the damage to some fruits by natural factors such as cold or heat waves.

Al-Shabi explained that this year’s production is less than last year’s of most fruits, noting that the rise in banana and apple prices during this period is linked to the end of their seasons.

The same speaker stressed that there is a shortage in Agadir during this period because we are not in the banana production season, as its abundance begins in September, while apples are not available in the market because the end of their season was in May, adding that what is currently available is called “hala”, which is in the summer, while imported apples are only used for occasions and weddings.