The crisis that shakes the poultry industry Moroccan culture takes on a new dimension. In a press release published on June 8, theNational Broiler Breeders Association (ANPC) expresses its serious concern about the deterioration of the economic situation of poultry meat producers. The organization denounces a collapse in farm sales prices which directly threatens the survival of many breeding.
According to the association, the price of a kilogram of live chicken has fallen below the threshold. 7 dirhamswhile the real cost of production oscillates between 15 and 17 dirhams per kilogram. A gap which results in significant losses for breedersforced to market their production well below its cost price.
Loss-making sales that weaken farms
For the ANPC, this situation has become untenable. The association estimates that the losses recorded sometimes exceed half the cost of production, leading to a rapid erosion of the financial resources of farms. Several breeders would thus find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy, in a context that the organization describes as “abnormal” and marked by the persistence of structural imbalances within the market. The association points out in particular the absence of effective market regulation mechanisms, the lack of protection for small producers as well as the proliferation of speculative practices and intermediation phenomena which, according to it, contribute to disorganizing the sector and weakening its profitability.
Beyond economic difficulties encountered by breeders, the ANPC believes that the continuation of this situation could have broader consequences on the supply of the national market. The organization considers that the weakening of producers directly threatens one of the main sectors supplying animal proteins in Morocco. It warns of the risks that the gradual disappearance of a significant number of farms would pose on the future availability of the product and on the stability of prices for consumers. According to the association, the most fragile link in the production chain has today become the main source of market imbalances.
Urgent measures requested
Faced with this crisis, the ANPC calls on the public authorities to intervene quickly in order to stop the financial hemorrhage suffered by breeders. The association calls in particular for the opening of an investigation into the dysfunctions affecting the marketing of poultry, the strengthening of control mechanisms against speculative practices and monopoly situations, as well as greater involvement of breeder representatives in the development of sectoral policies. The organization also advocates for the adoption of emergency measures intended to preserve the national production tool and to avoid the disappearance of operations considered essential to the balance of the sector.
The National Association of Broiler Breeders affirms that it will continue its efforts to defend the interests of professionals in the sector and preserve their conditions of activity. It also calls on the various institutional, economic and media players to take up this issue, which it considers to be a strategic issue affecting the food sovereignty of the country and in the future of thousands of families living directly or indirectly from the poultry industry.
While producers denounce a situation that has become unsustainable, the current crisis highlights the challenges still facing an essential sector for supplying the Moroccan market with animal proteins. The coming months will be decisive in measuring the sector’s ability to regain a sustainable economic balance.
