The meeting was attended by the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, the Minister of Industry and Trade, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, as well as the Secretary of State in charge of Maritime Fisheries.
The meeting was also held in the presence of the Directors General of the Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration, the National Fisheries Office, the National Interprofessional Office for Cereals and Legumes, and the National Office for Food Safety.
Participating remotely were the walis of the regions and the governors of prefectures, provinces and prefectures of districts across the Kingdom, the secretaries general, heads of divisions for internal affairs, heads of divisions for economic affairs of prefectures and provinces, and the heads of the concerned decentralized services.
In a statement, the Ministry of the Interior stressed that this meeting comes in implementation of the High Royal Directives aimed at preserving citizens’ purchasing power, ensuring the availability of basic products and the regular supply of markets, particularly as the blessed month of Ramadan approaches.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to review the state of supply and prices, strengthen coordination and monitoring mechanisms, intensify market control and regulation operations, and firmly combat all forms of speculation, price manipulation and other illicit practices likely to undermine consumer rights or affect their health and safety.
Regarding the state of supply of national markets, and based on the data presented by officials from the relevant ministerial departments and institutions, as well as the findings of surveys and reports carried out across the various prefectures and provinces, it was noted that the supply of markets with different consumer products remains normal.
Likewise, available stocks, as well as projected production and supply in the coming weeks, are sufficient to meet consumption needs for all basic products during the month of Ramadan and the months that follow. This is due to the anticipatory measures and mechanisms adopted by the government authorities and the competent administrative services in coordination with the relevant economic actors. The objective is to meet national market demand and avoid shortages of basic products, particularly those in high demand ahead of and during Ramadan.
The meeting also highlighted the positive impact of the significant rainfall recently recorded in the Kingdom, which is likely, in the short and medium terms, to contribute to improving the performance of agricultural and pastoral activities and animal production, thereby strengthening national capacity to supply markets with basic products.
The expected resumption of small pelagic fishing activities before the advent of the holy month in several regions, following the biological rest period, along with other accompanying measures adopted, is expected to contribute to strengthening the supply of various fish species, particularly those most in demand during Ramadan.
In this regard, and despite the reassuring data and indicators concerning the supply situation, emphasis was placed on the need to maintain vigilance, monitoring and the mobilization of all concerned economic actors, sectors, institutions, services and competent control bodies. The objective is to ensure regular and continuous market supply and to improve the efficiency of the production, distribution and marketing ecosystem.
This also involves combating price increases and working continuously to control and regulate markets in order to protect consumer rights, safeguard citizens’ purchasing power, and preserve their health.
To this end, instructions were given to all stakeholders, particularly walis and governors, to ensure the continuation and strengthening of coordination and vigilance measures, as well as the mobilization of all relevant authorities, administrations and bodies.
This includes taking all measures necessary to ensure sufficient and regular market supply at the level of the various prefectures and provinces of the Kingdom, identifying any dysfunctions in supply and distribution chains and remedying them with the required efficiency and speed, in addition to intensifying the interventions of control services while ensuring compliance with legal provisions relating to prices, competition and consumer protection.
It also involves confronting, with rigor and firmness, all forms of speculation, monopoly or illegal stockpiling, as well as any commercial practices that disrupt the normal functioning of markets or harm consumers’ rights, health and safety.
In this respect, the activation of the repressive procedures provided for by law against offenders was recommended, while strengthening coordination between the competent authorities and services.
Emphasis was also placed on the need to promote communication with consumers, professionals and civil society actors through available means, involving the relevant services and institutions, consumer protection associations and the media, in order to raise awareness among consumers about responsible and healthy consumption behavior.
It was also stressed that contact numbers and on-call units should be activated at the level of prefectures and provinces, as well as within the various concerned services and institutions, to enable consumers and stakeholders to submit complaints and report cases of fraud, supply shortages or illegal or suspicious commercial practices, while ensuring effective and rapid processing of received complaints, in coordination with the competent services and bodies.
Editorial team/le7tv