Olive oil prices expected to rise further next season

Agadir24

Olive oil producers and professionals expect the prices of this product to continue to rise during the coming season, with the arrival of autumn.

The price of one liter of olive oil in the markets has reached 90 dirhams, after the increases witnessed this season, which were the subject of complaints from citizens and producers alike.

According to industry players, “prices will likely continue to rise due to drought and heat conditions, which is inevitable,” stressing that “speculators in this field are the cause of the increases experienced in the current season, and expected in the next season.”

The same producers and professionals noted that “it is possible to overcome this scenario by opening the door to imports,” noting that prices “could return to their levels if there were imports from the markets of Spain and Tunisia, which witnessed abundant production of olive oil this year.”

They added that “the government, whether it wants to or not, will be forced to open the door to imports to confront the weakness of national production and the desire to reduce prices.”

Regarding the issue of export, the speakers stated that “preventing the export of used oil is necessary given the current situation, while preventing the oil that is directed to manufacturing will only cause more losses,” according to their expression.

This comes at a time when the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, acknowledged the “existence of speculation in the olive oil market” in Morocco, noting that the government resorted last year to ban exports to confront weak production.