The Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forestry want to reassure people that, after a sharp increase, the price of onions is now returning to balance. Currently, it costs 5 or even 6 dirhams per kilo, a 50% increase compared to 2018.
The frequency of winter onion (green onion) cultivation, which is mainly practiced in rainfed areas, is said to be the cause. Indeed, unfavourable climatic conditions, in particular the low rains during January and February, caused production in some production areas to fall by 33%.
In addition, the marketing year for dry onions is coming to an end and this year it coincides with the beginning of Ramadan.
For tomatoes, the price is also recovering. During the first weekend of Ramadan, the price of tomatoes did not exceed 4.5 dirhams per kilo. Specifically, on May 7, it reached 3.40 dirhams at the wholesale markets in Oujda, Marrakech and Rabat, 4 dirhams in Tangier and 4.33 dirhams in Casablanca, while the previous day, prices varied from -12.5% in Oujda to +8% in Fez, Casablanca and Tangier. To explain this situation, the Ministry blames the short interval between the end of production of early and extra early tomatoes and the beginning of production of seasonal tomatoes, which enters full production in a week.
