This season, prices for olives and olive oil in various cities of the eastern region have reached a record high, twice the level of the previous season. What prevented him from providing many families with this item, which is one of the elements of the Moroccan table.
High prices for olives and olive oil are primarily due to poor harvests. This is the result of a lack of rainfall as the main source of irrigation, as well as low water levels in wells used to irrigate olive trees in most cultivated areas, according to Hamid Barda, head of the regional olive tree association. manufacturers in the east.
Barda indicated in a statement to Hespress that farmers currently need to deepen their wells to reach water so they can water their trees, explaining on the other hand that a bad opportunity prevents this as it currently costs more than 40 to dig a well. million centimeters.
In addition to the lack of irrigation water, the same speaker confirmed that some areas were affected by red dust, which swept them up during the flowering period. This has reduced the productivity of thousands of trees, which have also been affected by high temperatures in the past months during the day and night, as their resistance and moisture retention were weakened.
With regard to the olive producer in the eastern region, the head of the regional association of olive growers in the region stated that it is normal for prices sold to the consumer to see a noticeable increase, taking into account all the above factors, although at the beginning of the sale of the product this season, this increase did not double or more like this is happening now, indicating that families’ demand for olive pressing also contributed to these prices.
The price of olives destined for olive oil pressing in the region is 12 dirhams per kilogram, while the price of black olives is 15 dirhams, which is 5-7 dirhams more than last year, while the price of olive oil is hovering around 75 dirhams per kilogram. and 85 dirhams per litre.
In this regard, Hamid Barda, who is also one of the exporters of olives abroad, confirmed that this increase in the price of olives, which is known nationally and not only locally, will negatively affect Moroccan exporters abroad. since the competition has become this season with countries with good production and price. Less like Egypt, Turkey and Greece is difficult.
It is worth noting that the figures released by the Eastern Region Regional Department of Agriculture indicate that the cultivation of the olive variety has increased in recent years, as the area under cultivation increased from 77,000 hectares in 2009 to more than 120,000 hectares in 2009. 2019; This represents an increase of 55 percent over 2009.
