Assahafa.com
Morocco has reactivated its national consumer complaints hotline, 5757, for the duration of Ramadan, as authorities move to contain price pressures and market abuses ahead of the holy month. Operating daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the service allows citizens to directly reach complaint units in their local prefectures and provinces.
The hotline enables consumers to report a wide range of violations, including fraud, food quality and safety breaches, supply shortages, illegal commercial practices, and unfair competition. Calls can be made from both landlines and mobile phones at standard fixed-line rates, without additional charges.
Food prices traditionally rise in the weeks preceding Ramadan due to increased household consumption, but this year’s surge has been particularly pronounced.
Sardines – long regarded as “the poor’s fish” because of their affordability across social classes – have climbed to MAD 40-50 ($4-5) per kilogram, earning criticism from consumer protection associations who warn of the impact on low-income families.
The spike is the result of several converging factors. The biological rest period for fish stocks ended on Sunday, while recent weather disturbances and heavy rainfall disrupted fishing activity along the coast.
According to professional sources, around 90% of preliminary landings currently consist of surface fish, with notable volumes recorded at Larache (over 200 tons), Agadir (100 tons), and Laayoune (around 60 tons).
In response, Competition Council President Ahmed Rahhou announced the launch of a new digital transparency initiative aimed at restoring discipline to Morocco’s fish market. The platform will publish daily wholesale prices via the National Fisheries Office website, allowing consumers to compare port prices with retail prices and identify unjustified markups by intermediaries.
Rahhou noted that intermediaries can sometimes capture up to 70% of the final consumer price without adding commensurate value – an imbalance the platform seeks to correct by curbing speculation and excessive profit margins, particularly during periods of heightened demand.
Complementing these measures, the government last week launched the “Fish at Reasonable Prices” initiative, which will supply approximately 5,000 tons of frozen fish to national markets during Ramadan. The program covers 47 cities through more than 1,100 sales points, with frozen sardines and anchovies included for the first time.
Industry representatives anticipate a gradual easing of prices as biological rest effects materialize and weather conditions stabilize. However, Morocco is facing a second consecutive year of declining fish stocks, heightening the strain compared to previous seasons.
The free-market structure – governed largely by supply and demand across multiple distribution chains – continues to amplify price volatility and inflation.
Consumer associations argue that emergency measures alone are insufficient. They are calling for deeper structural reforms, including tighter market monitoring, clearer profit margin frameworks, expanded cold-storage infrastructure, and stronger support for local cooperatives to reduce dependency on speculative intermediaries.
As Ramadan approaches, authorities are betting that transparency tools, targeted supply interventions, and the reactivation of the 5757 hotline will help restore balance to markets – and public confidence at the checkout counter.
Source: Morocco word news
