Eid Al Adha: Sheep more expensive this year
About twenty days before Eid Al Adha, a certain frenzy has begun to settle in the weekly souks and among sheep breeders-fatteners. A frenzy that particularly affects the prices of sheep intended for sacrifice. They are, in fact, marked by increases that vary between 900 dirhams for lambs and 2,500 dirhams for rams depending on the breed, weight, and breeding regions. The kilo of live sheep went from 53 dirhams in 2021 to 68 dirhams this year, with all due respect to the Department in charge of Agriculture, which announced in a press release that “prices have remained stable” and, therefore, are more or less identical to those of last year, sheep costs more.
Among breeders/fatteners and farmers in general, three main reasons are put forward to try to explain this surge in prices. First, the so-called exorbitant costs of the feed needed to fatten sheep, especially in the absence of real competition between the handful of producers of this feed. Then, and despite the efforts deployed by the government on high royal instructions, as part of an exceptional program to mitigate the effects of the drought, it seems that the support measures for breeders have not been sufficient, say the breeders.
The third reason cited is, of course, drought. This year, the supply of sheep for slaughter on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha exceeds 8 million heads against a demand estimated at 6 million heads. For its part, the National Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders (ANOC) believes that “animal prices should know this year an increase of 20 to 30% compared to last year”. According to its president, Abderrahmane Mejdoubi , “2022 is a difficult year for breeders”. The prices of animal feed have been multiplied by 2.5 and even by 4 for certain inputs. This situation experienced by the rural world and particularly the breeders does not date from this year. Indeed, the health crisis and the restrictive measures have “plunged the breeding activity into an abyss of difficulty to such an extent that several breeders have been forced to part with their herds. That said, many breeders have shown resilience and maintained their activity despite soaring production costs”, he adds, clarifying that “breeders did not pass on the increase in inputs to consumer prices” throughout last year. So why are sheep prices soaring now? Is it a question of catching up and recovering “the shortfall” recorded last year or is it pure speculation (on the rise)?
Jamal Eddine HERRADI
