However, despite the success of the poultry sector and a context of difficult socio-economic crisis, the chain of distribution and marketing of chicken in Morocco shows major dysfunctions impacting the price but also the quality of the white meat which lands at the end of the season. consumer table.
In this sense, this report points the finger at the distribution conditions of white meat. He points out that live chickens are generally transported in conditions that do not meet health and safety standards. A finding that requires, according to the same source, to introduce specific support for the purchase of means of transport for poultry and white meat, which meet the required standards.
Added to this are fluctuating prices, and the problem of controlling unapproved distribution channels, allowing pluckers, commonly known as “riachas”, to acquire 90% of the market share. In detail, the report of the said mission indicates that the market is disturbed by the presence of nearly 150,000 “riacha” who monopolize a good part of the white meat supply to the detriment of the units approved for this mission.
The “riacha” therefore process the majority of the chicken on the market (90%) or even 10% of the meat from the turkey. Result: the 27 slaughterhouses and 5 cutting units approved in Morocco process only 10% of chicken meat and 90% of turkey meat.
Another striking result emerges from the parliamentary inquiry in question. Almost 80% of chickens pass through traditional channels and wholesale markets, while only 20% of poultry products pass through modern channels, mainly industrial slaughterhouses.
Other ills impact the poultry sector, this time concerning the aspect relating to investment. Moreover, contrary to the good approach consisting in having a forecast on the adequate market for the marketing of their products, the investors of the sector are concerned first of all with producing, then then looking for the market to which they will intend their products.
Moreover, the traditional character, the lack of structuring and the lack of regulation of the marketing and distribution channels allow the intervention of unstructured actors, thus promoting disorder in the sector. Supporting evidence, the survey reveals an almost total absence of wholesale markets specific to the poultry sector, except in Casablanca.
In addition to the fact that this situation has a negative impact on the purchasing power of households, it constitutes an obstacle to the development of the poultry sector, hence the need, according to the Interprofessional Federation of the poultry sector in Morocco (FISA), to strengthen control outlets, but also to rehabilitate and upgrade “riachate”, which are small poultry shops, especially those located near high-density urban areas. The idea would be, according to the federation, to convert them into points of sale controlled by the National Office for Food Safety.
At the same time, the federation points out that the closure of non-compliant sales outlets had the disadvantage of creating an imbalance between supply and demand, leading to a drop in prices which caused losses to poultry farmers and even bankruptcies for some of them or the reduction of production for others.
Regarding the reasons behind the increase in chicken prices, observed in recent months in several markets of the Kingdom, the report of the said parliamentary mission cited the increase in production costs which rose from 11 or 11.50 dirhams kg to 16.50 or 17 dirhams, especially in Casablanca and Rabat.