Government council press briefing: transportation aid, gas subsidies and new customs

The government’s aid to transportation professionals amounted to an approximate MAD 1 billion, which will increase as the executive plans yet the fourth round of aid. During a press conference subsequent to the government council this Thursday, Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said the executive is “studying additional flexibility margins for the benefit of transportation professionals, to help them cope with soaring fuel prices.” After the prices of gasoline and diesel reached record levels in the Moroccan market this week, the official explained that “the reason for the rise in fuel prices is known, and it is linked to an international context marked by war, in which day after day there is increasing uncertainty about the prices that these materials can reach.” The government official recalled that “the government has taken a set of measures to enhance the purchasing power of citizens,” with regard to fuel or subsidized consumer goods such as sugar and flour, as the support for this substance through the national subsidies’ fund cost MAD 3.4 billion. Baitas explained that the cost of subsidizing butane gas to maintain its domestic price stability reached MAD 21 billion after the government expected the cost of subsidies to be in the range of MAD 9 billion to MAD 10 billion, noting that the government will have to pump more financial funds to subsidize butane gas in the event that its international price increases further. The global rise in prices in the international market has not only affected the purchasing power of citizens, but pushed the government to allocate additional unplanned funds to support some basic goods, and resulted in the postponement of feeding the Kingdom’s national strategic stock. “The government is working on supplying the strategic stock through a set of laws and public policies, but the natural thing is that the stock is supplied when prices are at average levels,” adding that “engaging in the purchase requires some time.” Commenting on the government’s decision to impose customs duties on Moroccans’ purchases from abroad of less than MAD 1,250, which had been exempt from duties, Baitas said that this decision came “after it became clear that the issue is no longer limited to individuals’ purchases, but has become commonly and illicitly deployed by fraudulent commerce practitioners who aim to avoid paying customs duties on commercial goods.” Such practices severely harm the national economy, as Baitas revealed that the fraudulent division of commercial goods to be under the value of MAD 1250 lost the Moroccan economy an approximate MAD 1 billion in 2021. The number was expected to reach MAD 2 billion this year if it wasn’t for the state’s intervention. The official added that the new measure will enter into force starting July 1 and that purchases made before this date will not be subject to any fees. Regarding Moroccan-Spanish relations, Baitas said that “all is proceeding according to the plan and the deadline jointly set for it, since the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister to Morocco,” without providing further details, adding: “When the Minister of the Interior makes a presentation on the subject, we will provide all the data related to it in this weekly gathering.”