Moroccan Rice Producers Demand Protective Measures Against Imports

Moroccan rice producers and industry professionals are sounding the alarm over the increasingly precarious state of rice cultivation in the country. They cite mounting pressure from competitive imported rice, especially from Egypt, as a significant threat to their livelihoods and investments.

The federation of rice producers in Morocco highlighted that the continuous influx of imported rice at aggressive prices creates substantial difficulties for Moroccan growers, jeopardizing the returns on their agricultural investments. This situation, they claim, has negatively impacted 24,000 families in the Gharb region and disrupted related activities in cultivation, processing, and marketing.

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The Ministry of Economy and Finance is required to intervene urgently to review the customs duties imposed on rice imports in a way that ensures fair protection for the national product, while studying the adoption of appropriate commercial and customs measures to prevent the national market from being flooded with imported products at prices that harm local production.

In response, industry professionals are planning escalating actions, including a protest outside the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rabat. They are demanding immediate government intervention to safeguard domestic rice production and the national product. Abdelkamel Hamini, the secretary-general of the Rice Federation of Morocco, stated that producers have exhausted all avenues of appeal and are now resorting to this protest to demand protection from foreign competition.

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The Moroccan consumer is also concerned with protecting the national product, provided that quality and health standards are respected and competitive and reasonable prices are adopted.

Hamini urged the Ministry of Economy and Finance to urgently review customs duties on rice imports to ensure fair protection for Moroccan products. He also called for appropriate trade and customs measures to prevent the national market from being flooded with low-priced imports that undermine local production. A clear and sustainable policy to protect and promote rice farming in Morocco, ensuring fair competition, is essential, he added.

Consumer protection groups have expressed support for these demands, emphasizing that protecting national production is not only about producers' economic interests but also about ensuring national food security and preserving rural employment. Ali Shtour, president of the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights, stated that consumers are also concerned with protecting national products, provided quality and health standards are met, and prices remain competitive and reasonable. He stressed that supporting local production contributes to economic and social balance in agricultural areas, and that while competition is positive, market flooding with cheap imports can weaken national production chains that provide thousands of jobs and contribute to food sovereignty.

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Competition remains a positive thing when it takes place within the framework of equal and fair rules; however, flooding markets with imported products at significantly low prices may lead to the weakening of national production chains that provide thousands of jobs and contribute to a degree of food sovereignty.