In this regard, professionals in the sector warned of a shortage of meat, warning of the spread of the secret carcass, due to the decline in the production of this substance in the coming months, compared to previous years, due to a group of factors, the most important of which is the high cost of feed. They also sounded the alarm about the lack of milk supply.
These professionals are calling on the government to take urgent measures and involve all stakeholders and actors in the meat sector in order to overcome this alarming situation, by opening the door to importing cows from abroad.
In the same context, the National Association of Red Meat Wholesalers in Morocco and the National Association of Retail Meat Dealers warned against slaughtering unborn cows and not giving milk, noting that this would exacerbate the meat shortage crisis.
Import is the solution
Abdel-Ali Ramo, head of the National Association of Red Meat Wholesalers, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that the main goal of opening the door to import domestic cows ready for slaughter that weighs more than 550 kg is not aimed at speculation, but rather to reduce the price of red meat in wholesale and installments. And save the butchers and farmers from bankruptcy and support the purchasing power of the Moroccan citizen.
Ramo added, “All professionals working in the sector must be involved in order to ensure fair competition. All this is for the benefit of the consumer.”
And the president of the association went on: “We demand the Minister of Agriculture to speak to the Minister of Finance regarding the abolition of the value-added tax on importing cows, given that we are currently living in difficult circumstances that require sacrifice from everyone.”
The two aforementioned associations, according to a statement seen by “Sky News Arabia,” called for “opening the door to those who have the ability to import from butchers and butchers, and that this process not be limited to specific parties, especially since some of them were the cause of the high-priced meat crisis during the month of Ramadan in 2017.” Today, you want to monopolize this process.
Urgent intervention is required
From here, the two associations call on the Head of Government, the Ministers of Agriculture and the Interior, the Director General of the National Office for Health Safety of Food Products, the President of the Interprofessional Federation of Red Meat, the President of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Director of the Production Chains Development Directorate, for an emergency meeting and urgent intervention in order to find solutions.
As for the Federation of Producers of Milk and Agricultural Products, it has indicated that the national production of milk has lost more than 60 percent, and that the cooperatives that used to produce 4 thousand liters of milk are now producing between 700 and 600 liters only, while those that used to produce two thousand liters do not exceed their production. The current 300 liters of milk.
winner winner
In this context, Ahmed Hamad Bourakizia, President of the Federation of Milk and Agricultural Producers, attributed the reasons to the inability of farmers to keep up with the high prices of fodder, and that more than half of the farmers who were involved in agricultural associations sold their cows because of the high prices, and the young shepherds who were grazing alongside way to cities.
The President of the Federation stressed that farmers cannot return to milk production after losing confidence and selling their cows unless the demands are met, including the conclusion of new contracts that guarantee the rights of the producer, the factory is a winner, and the prices of compound feed are reduced to what they were before.
It is noteworthy that Firq and the opposition group in the House of Representatives rejected the decision of the Ministries of Agriculture and the Interior to prevent the slaughter of dairy cows, and demanded a retreat from “this unilateral choice that is harmful to farmers and their income from livestock breeding.”
In the oral questions session of the Minister of Agriculture, the teams confirmed, “Sky News Arabia” listened to its details, this week, that “providing milk is an important matter, but it should not be done at the expense of the interests of professionals.”
The deputies warned that “this matter will perpetuate the spread of the secret slaughter, and contribute to raising the prices of meat, which may threaten the food security of Moroccans,” and demanded explanations about preventing slaughter and stimulating imports.
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