The fruit of the poor is no longer the fruit of the poor in Morocco.. What is the story?

Weather of Arabia - Moroccan markets witnessed a significant increase in the prices of the prickly pear fruit, known locally as “Indian” or “Indian pear,” which caused the annoyance and anger of many consumers, as this fruit, nicknamed “the fruit of the poor,” has become expensive for many. .

• Price increase

The price of one prickly pear fruit jumped to between 5 and 10 dirhams (half a dollar to one dollar), after its previous price did not exceed half a dirham (about 0.10 dollars). The price of a box of prickly pear also increased from 30 dirhams (about $3) to 500 dirhams (about $50).

Reasons for high prices

Agricultural specialists in Morocco attribute the rise in prickly pear prices to some plant diseases that affected the amount of production. According to data issued by the National Office for the Sanitary Safety of Food Products, coccinella disease caused the destruction of about 40% of the prickly pear crop, and the cost of combating it amounted to about 15 million dirhams ($1.5 million). Prickly pear cultivation covers an area of up to 120 thousand hectares, but production has been affected in recent years by the cochineal insect virus, which destroyed about 90% of the areas allocated for this cultivation.

• Climatic factors and their impact

Climatic factors also contributed to the rise in prickly pear prices, as the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture stated that the producing areas witnessed a 30% decrease in rainfall over the past ten years.

• Impact of demand for cosmetic oils

Activists also pointed out that the rise in prices is partly due to the desire of agricultural cooperatives to buy prickly pear fruits to extract their oils used in the manufacture of cosmetics, which are among the most expensive types of cosmetic oils in the world.

Reactions on social media

Users on social media reacted to the price hike. Khamis Patikant commented on Facebook sarcastically: “The price of hindi is 70 dirhams per kilogram, and the price of one piece is 5 dirhams ($0.5). If you eat more than three pieces, you will get a promo (discount) of 50 cents per piece.” Hisham Awaheli remembered when the price of the box was 20 dirhams (two dollars).

Another page also wrote: “The fruit of the poor becomes the exclusive preserve of the rich. Indian prices have skyrocketed in Morocco, where they are now sold, depending on the quality, for between 6 and 10 dirhams per piece, after their price before the appearance of the cochineal insect did not exceed 50 centimes.”

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