“Consumer protectors” demand the cancellation of Eid al-Adha to save Moroccans from the “deadly blow”

Agadir 24 | Agadir24

Some consumer protection associations in Morocco called for “cancelling the Eid al-Adha ritual in order to protect the Moroccan citizen from prices that will be a fatal blow to his purchasing power in the face of possible increases to reach 1,500 dirhams compared to last year.”

These associations unanimously agreed that “the successive years of drought affected national production, in addition to the destruction of the herd during the pandemic period when the ewes giving birth were slaughtered,” which indicates an “unprecedented rise” in prices.

These associations believe that there is “ambiguity” in the numbers provided regarding the fact that the herd will reach approximately 6 million 600 thousand by Eid al-Adha (i.e. approximately 7 million) after the end of the ongoing numbering process. They are surprised by the high prices if the herd is available.

In response to this issue, Abdel Karim Al-Shafii, President of the Regional Federation for Consumer Rights in the Souss-Massa region, considered that “the statement that there will be about 7 million of the herd available at Eid Al-Adha is a kind of fantasy refuted by reality,” stressing that “the number has now reached two million.” This means that at the maximum the national product will not exceed 4 million heads, which portends a disaster.”

Al-Shafi’i pointed out that “slaughtering this number of sacrifices during the next Eid will mean the depletion of red meat from sheep by about 90 percent or more, which raises expectations that the price of one kilogram of this type of meat will reach 150 or 200 dirhams.”

The same spokesman stressed that the realization of this scenario “would be a fatal blow to the purchasing power of the Moroccan consumer,” adding that “there is an effort to prepare citizens for the high prices in order to save enough money more than in previous years.”

The same actor concluded that “there is a shortage that no party can deny, and therefore we must preserve what is now available from the herd and cancel Eid Al-Adha,” noting that “prices will be incredibly high, and the increase may reach 1,500 dirhams per head compared to Last year, due to the spread of brokers and intermediaries.”

For his part, Ahmed Bayoud, the founding president of the “With Consumers” Association, revealed that “the number of 6 million or approximately 7 million is incorrect, and no observer can believe it, which requires more efforts by the National Office for the Health Safety of Food Products” UNSA) to reveal the true numbers of the national herd.”

Bayoud confirmed that “there is a conviction that we will not even reach 5 million sheep this year,” stressing that “the herd is not available as sheep breeders promote in defense of their interests, and it is the same cylinder they chanted last year, and they said that the herd reached 5 million, but Many Moroccans in various parts of the Kingdom did not find a sacrifice in the last days before Eid.”

The same speaker recorded that “there is a flaw in the numbers and a discrepancy in which the consumer is the victim,” noting that “alleviating the burden on Moroccans requires abolishing this ritual,” which is “a step that the king alone has the authority to take.”