Maryam Taidi-Rabat

In front of the shops selling "Atara" (spices) in the Moroccan capital Rabat, life appears at first sight almost normal, as the smells of spices and the sounds of grinding machines used by nuts are used by some families to prepare "souffs" (a mixture of reddish flour and crushed nuts mixed with olive oil or Honey or sugar, Moroccans are keen to have with their Ramadan tables), before you pay attention to the distances between buyers and the wearing of masks by everyone, to remember that he is ready for Ramadan in the time of Corona. 

Hajja Khadija (in the fifties) insists that preparing the Shabakiya (a type of sweets) is necessary during Ramadan, and she adds - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - that Moroccan women are used to preparing Moroccan Ramadan dishes before Ramadan in preparation for him and during it also, and that the reality of the stone will not change anything from This behavior. 

This was not the opinion of the beautiful young woman, or of two children, who considered that the current Ramadan is an occasion to correct some consumption habits and dispense with some foods such as Shabakia, which are not necessarily essential.   

And between the behavior of Khadija and Jamila, the behavior and pattern of consumption among Moroccans varies during Ramadan in the time of Corona, where the markets witness despite the reality of emergency and stone abundance in supply, while demand moves according to the consumer’s conviction and purchasing power.

Does consumption decrease?
The nature of consumption among Moroccan families changes during Ramadan, according to a previous study by the High Planning Commission (the official statistics authority), families spend an additional over a third on food (about 37%) during Ramadan, and this increase affects eating expenses for all groups without exception.

Fees for the acquisition of fruits increase by 163%, grains and meat by 35%, and milk and derived products from it by 47%. Will Corona and the emergency situation change from these percentages? 

The general writer of consumer protection societies in Morocco Wadih Mudih expects that the consumption habits in Morocco will know some change, such as giving up buying ready-made food, preparing food at home, and the resulting economic profit and health benefit. 

Madih said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the nature of consumption will know an automatic and subconscious change, and we may be facing a boom in consumer habits that tends toward austerity in broad categories.

Consumer behavior of some Moroccans is geared towards demand for storable products (Al-Jazirah)

Abundant supply and decrease in demand
The data provided by the government indicate that the markets are provided with all the products that receive demand during the month of Ramadan, and that the supply exceeds demand and needs. , Price stability.

The president of a professional association for immaculate proximity traders Abu Al-Falah says to Al-Jazeera Net that the markets are known as a normal course of supply with a relative lack of demand. Abu Al-Falah explains that the first days of the emergency declaration in Morocco witnessed an unusual movement driven by panic, which caused turmoil in the market for fear of closure . 

And the consumer behavior of some Moroccan citizens was directed towards the demand for storable products such as legumes and pastries, before the balance returned to the markets and prices stabilized.   

Abu Al-Falah reported that the demand for materials that witness greater consumption by Moroccans during Ramadan, such as honey, flour and butter, continues. 

Sustainable consumption
Wadih Madih believes that the purchasing power of large groups of society is declining, especially in rural areas, and among informal sector workers, which according to the same speaker calls for managing consumption in a rational way and avoiding extravagance and waste.

"Today we need more sustainable consumption," said the general writer of the Consumer Protection Associations. 

At the beginning of April this year, 57% of all companies (approximately 142,000 companies) stated that they had suspended their activities temporarily or permanently, and according to the High Planning Commission this current situation may have had repercussions on employment, as 27% of the contractors may have been forced To reduce the workforce temporarily or permanently.

62.7% of households stated that during the first semester of the year 2020, their income covered their expenses, while the remaining families drained 32.5% of their savings or resorted to borrowing.  

Will the quarantine period that precedes Ramadan be a training in sustainable consumption, giving each product its value? Will the stone actually change the Moroccan dining table during the month of fasting?