Slight increases in fuel prices in Morocco amid fears of summer fluctuations

Fuel selling prices at national stations witnessed a slight increase in the middle of this week, ranging between 14 cents in the price of gasoline and 8 cents in the price of gasoline.

In the face of these new increases, gasoline is now being marketed at prices ranging between 13.01 and 13.04 dirhams per liter, while one liter of gasoline is being marketed at the station level at prices ranging between 15.01 and 15.05 dirhams, with differences between cities in view of… Whether it is close to ports or not.

In the absence of clarifications from official actors regarding these increases and their reasons, public debate took place about whether this increase would lead to new increases, especially with the approaching summer season in which the demand for this vital material increases, coinciding with the geo-strategic transformations that the Middle East region is undergoing. It can negatively impact the international market of the raw and refined product as well.

In this regard, Jamal Zarikum, President of the National League of Gas Station Owners, Merchants and Managers in Morocco, said, “The recent increases applied, although they are slight, are determined by the companies and make them a tariff that covers the national territory, while the stations are not responsible for any decision in this regard.”

Zarikum added, in a statement to Hespress, that “the stations in this framework remain implementing these increases only, as they acquire these materials at specific, non-negotiable prices, so that this jurisdiction is outside their authority,” explaining that “these increases reflect negatively on the costs that rise without This is paralleled by another increase in profits.”

The same professional actor pointed out that “the stations, given their relationship with the market, resort to changing the price plates after the distributing companies decide on these increases, to be implemented directly at the beginning of the next day, which remains outside the will of the stations.”

On the other hand, Al-Hussein Al-Yamani, head of the National Front to Save the Moroccan Petroleum Refinery “Samir,” said, “Given the stability of the price of one ton of refined gasoline during the last two weeks of March and during the month of April at $840, there is no justification for this increase, at a time when We are faced with an increase of 5 dirhams per liter in installments compared to the pre-liberation period.”

Al-Yamani stressed, in a statement to Hespress, that “gasoline should not be distributed for more than 11.62 dirhams if we recall these indicators, while it is sold for more than this price by about 1.40 dirhams, which adds this number to 60 cents of profits in the year.” The actors in this sector have a lot of money for one liter,” he said, noting that “what also confirms this proposition is that Morocco is among the beneficiaries of Russian gasoline, which is known for its cheap price.”

The same spokesman stated that “these increases could be the beginning of another series of increases, especially as we are on the cusp of the summer season, which is witnessing a rise in demand, at a time when successive recent developments could accelerate the pace of these increases, so that we may once again reach high numbers such as those we witnessed during the period.” A precedent,” adding that “Morocco needs an objective study of the impact of liberalizing the fuel market and relying on it in the expected liberalization of the gas market.”

The union activist stated that “fuel prices in Morocco have entered a trend of continuous increases since the beginning of the liberalization process, as today we face a rise in prices with every movement in the internal crude market, which is fundamentally disproportionate, because Morocco is not specifically concerned with the crude market, but rather with the net market.” Of gasoline and gasoline.”