Faced with rising prices of raw materials and strong competition from the informal sector, the Moroccan Federation of bakeries and pastry shops has stepped up to call for a restructuring of the sector. In this sense, the professional organization has planned to organize next Thursday, a study day at the House of Representatives. This meeting, which will bring together all stakeholders in the sector, is intended to discuss the challenges of the profession and its future.
The Moroccan Federation of bakeries and pastry shops has announced the holding next Thursday of a study day in the House of Representatives. Organized in partnership with the Socialist parliamentary group, this meeting will be attended by the Ministry of Agriculture as supervisory department, and all partners involved in this sector. This meeting will be an opportunity to expose the challenges faced by professionals in the sector and discuss ways to meet them. Indeed, for two weeks, the Moroccan Federation had gone to the window (February 10) to denounce the statements of government spokesman Mustapha Baitas who had said that the government supported the maintenance of the price of bread to the unit through a budget of 50 billion cents, which implied, according to it, that the sector was receiving direct government assistance.
The Federation had issued a statement to explain that the support granted by the state was intended for the manufacturing industries of flour mills and not the sector. The Federation called, in the same statement, the government to control the production of various flours in these units. “It was necessary to clarify and inform public opinion to avoid any confusion that may exist between the support provided by the state for the acquisition of grains used to manufacture flour and its derivatives and a possible direct support granted to bakeries, “said Noureddine Lafif, president of the Federation, in a statement to the “Matin”. And it seems that the remarks of the Federation have found echo with the government, since the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, intervened a week later (February 17) to explain that the support granted by the state is not a direct support to bakeries and pastry shops, but that it is a subsidy to maintain the price of imported seeds at the same level and in turn maintain the price of soft flour (basic material for the manufacture of bread at the reference price of 1.20 DH) at 240 DH per quintal instead of 350 DH, which is the real price.
The same official was keen to stress that this flour is intended for domestic and professional use. It should be noted that the sector of the bakery-pastry which relies in its various productions on raw materials, seems to suffer the full force of the soaring prices of basic materials. Professionals deplore for several months, a staggering rise in all materials entering the preparations in bakery and pastry. Noureddine Lafif, President of the Federal Council of the Moroccan Federation of Bakery and Pastry (FMBP), explains that the prices of raw materials have literally soared in recent months. “Prices are skyrocketing, the price of vegetarian butter has gone from 40 to 60 dirhams per kilogram. Same thing for the price per kilogram of semolina, which is now 10 dirhams, against 6 dirhams last August. As for the price of wholemeal flour, it has increased from 4.50 to 7.50 dirhams per kilogram,” he said, adding that the price of chocolate pastry has also increased by 15 to 20%. Ditto for vegetable oils.
It is therefore a real call for help that the bakery-pastry industry has just launched, through the FMBP. The professionals of the bakery-pastry industry are currently facing an uncontrollable inflation of the raw materials necessary to their trade. In addition to this difficulty, professionals deplore unfair competition practiced by the informal service. “These actors do not pay charges and work in conditions that do not respect hygiene. They pay less to their employees who are not declared to the CNSS and they offer goods at lower prices, bringing the coup de grace to a sector already in agony, “notes the same speaker. Professionals therefore call for a restructuring of the sector and the establishment of incentives to support businesses. This includes the establishment of a special tax system, reducing the amount of contribution to the CNSS and the review downward rates of water and electricity. They also propose to make available to bakeries a special flour whose grant will meet a specification.
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