Truck drivers transporting fruits and vegetables to wholesale markets have been on strike since Friday, causing prices to skyrocket. The supply of fruits and vegetables has decreased by 33 percent, according to Moroccan media outlet Assabah.
Casablanca, which typically receives 1,400 truckloads of produce daily, only received 540 on Friday. Prices have risen across all types of fruits and vegetables. The wholesale price for potatoes, for example, increased from MAD 2.5 to 4 per kilogram (€.0.23 to 0.37), while the price of onions rose from MAD 0.8 per kilogram to MAD 3 (€0.07-0.28).
The price of fruit increased even more: Grape prices rose from MAD 5 to MAD 12 per kilogram.
Truck drivers have said they will continue striking until their demands are met. The strike is in protest against the reduction of the tonnage trucks are allowed to legally transport The strike is also caused by rising oil prices, which peaked globally in early October, says moroccoworldnews.com.