A part of the carriers starts a strike from today to protest once again against the rise in the price of diesel. Yet the grants offered by the government to mitigate the outbreak are beginning to be distributed.
The worst thing that can happen to an entrepreneur is to work to lose money. This would be the daily life of Moroccan transporters who face the vertiginous rise in the prices of gasoline and diesel, which are close to 16 dh/litre. Backed by the wall since the start of the oil shock, they finally decide to freeze their activities in order to limit damage.
In other words, the professionals, in particular those affiliated with the National Federation of Multimodal Transport (FNTM), are observing an open strike from this Wednesday, April 6 at 10 a.m., until the grievances of the professionals are satisfied. At the top of the FNMT’s demands is the acceleration of the legal and regulatory framework for the diesel index in order to control price fluctuations and adopt indexation.
“The price of diesel has increased by 68% since December 2020 to today. This increase was not subject to any indexation. We, as companies in the field of transport, have preferred to stop working. Working to lose money is not the goal of an entrepreneur”, regrets Idriss Bernoussi, president of the Moroccan Association of Intercontinental Road Carriers (AMTRI).
The latter invites the government to join the process of price indexation. The president of the logistics commission of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), while castigating “a communication that leaves something to be desired” about fuels in Morocco, explains that “if we impact the increase in diesel on the price of transport we will be on an increase of 10% for the month of March and 18% for the month of April”.
Therefore, the FNTM claims the recovery of part of the domestic consumption tax (TIC) and the updating of the reference cost for the carrier. Professionals, very active in the Northern Region, call on the Executive to take “concrete” measures instead of “small solutions” which do not actually solve the thorny issue of the increase in fuel prices in Morocco.
A French solution?
As a reminder, on March 10, in the face of soaring fuel prices, the government launched the process of exceptional support for professionals in the road transport sector which will concern approximately 180,000 vehicles. Through this support, the government aims to support professionals in the road transport sector, by mitigating the impacts of rising fuel prices at the national level, caused by the continued rise in international prices.
It is a question in particular of a transfer of 6,000 DH per vehicle. “Aid completely disconnected from reality”, protests Idriss Bernoussi who advocates French solutions where the prices of road fuels sold in French service stations fell last week, against a background of falling crude oil prices and implementation of the government rebate, according to figures published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition on Monday April 4.
According to our colleagues from Ouest-France, this drop is largely explained by the discount of a minimum of 15 cents per liter of fuel, which came into force on April 1, 2022, for a period of four months, until to July 31. It was even felt a few days before because some stations had anticipated the discount before April 1, specifies the same source stressing that this discount varies between territories.
While the VAT is 20% in mainland France, the discount is 18 cents for the vast majority of motorists. This is around 17 cents in Corsica (13% VAT) and 15 cents overseas (no VAT on petroleum products). Should we duplicate the French model in Morocco, which already seems to be proving its worth?
One thing is certain, this is the second time that transporters have gone on strike in Morocco in the space of just a few weeks, despite the series of measures put in place by the Executive. In early March, road hauliers observed a three-day strike before extending it to 48 hours to protest against rising fuel prices, particularly diesel.
The unions felt that their demands had gone unanswered by the government. The strikers demanded a cap on fuel prices and the profit margins of hydrocarbon distributors since the surge in prices at the pump, accentuated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The file in the hands of the Competition Council
Before this first outing in the street, carriers had decided unilaterally to increase transport prices before being called to order by the Competition Council. He said he was seized of the fuel file.
Approached last Friday by Les Inspirations ECO, Ahmed Rahhou, president of the Competition Council, had promised an informed opinion after investigation in the days to come. This investigation is about ensuring that there are no increases beyond what is reasonable. “We are going to study the file to see if the fuel price increases meet the standards. It will also be a question of identifying the real causes,” promised Rahhou.
Today, the Council’s opinion is still awaited. Meanwhile, the trade unionists who face the oil companies, which “sweeten themselves on the backs of the carriers” insist on the need for the reduction of the “exorbitant” earnings of the distributors.
A fantasy, reject the main concerned, arguing that the price increase is amply justified because Morocco imports 100% of these products and therefore suffers from international price fluctuations. They claim today very low margins and say they do not fully pass on the increases.
Khadim Mbaye / ECO Inspirations