Newspaper articles 25, Contraband Modern in the Fes Medina

From Wednesday 17th , to Tuesday, Ramadan 23rd ,1424 corresponding to 12 – 18 November 2003.

N° 775 Numerous cases of food poisoning and financial losses estimated at millions

Contraband kills

By Rachida Harrak

The policy of fighting alimentary and non-alimentary contraband products has adopted a new direction in our country, especially when it has become clear that all cases of food poisoning known in Morocco are due to the consumption of smuggled food that is sold publicly in the markets. Local markets are crowded with contraband objects that contain no reference concerning their origin or the ingredients of which they are made. Smuggled food not only affects the life and the health of the consumer but also influences the local economy which is moaning due to severe competition between local products and contraband objects. In this connection the customs department has confirmed that although the entries of Sebta and Melilla have been under siege there has been a significant increase in goods smuggled into Moroccan cities. The rate of contraband objects has increased from 491 million dirham from nearly 9705 smuggling operations in 2000, to 502 million dirham in 2001, which is equivalent to 8446 smuggling operations. These rates suggest that 2000 dirham, the average rate per individual, is imported illegally to Morocco on a daily basis, except on weekends and holidays, a fact that causes Morocco more then 15 million dirham of losses every year. The proportion of smuggled objects from Spain is around 12 per cent.

The aggravation of contraband phenomenon in our country, as it is the case in other Arab Maghreb countries, is due to the lack of variety in these countries’ economy. That is, the Arab Maghreb economy is based on economic exchange with the West (import and export). As a result the economy of the Arab Maghreb countries depends mainly on the European market. On the other hand, the economic exchange between the Arab Maghreb countries remains very small and modest and it does not exceed 10 per cent. On the contrary, the rate of the economic exchange among the European Union countries goes beyond 60 per cent, while the exchanges with other countries outside the European Union remain very small. Although it has been 13 years since the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union the current rate of the economic exchange between the Arab Maghreb countries is only 3 per cent. This number is enough to demonstrate the failure of the Arab Maghreb Union organisation. Despite the various meetings and commissions established by the Arab Maghreb Union all member countries still suffer from serious problems and know very bad economic conditions. In addition, while the economic legal exchange between Maghreb countries is almost absent the illegal trade between these countries is continuously growing. Research indicates that illegal trade between the Arab Maghreb countries runs to the tune of 4 to 5 million dollars. Contraband has affected the Moroccan economy enormously especially since the government has adopted the policy of supporting the primary alimentary goods prices. This new policy has encouraged contraband, particularly goods coming from Algeria. Contraband trade develops quickly in the Moroccan-Algerian borders within the sight and the surveillance of the government. Oil products coming from Algeria constitute an important part of contraband activities in the eastern regions of Morocco while alimentary products such as flour, sugar, meat and drinks form the largest number of smuggled goods. Although many contraband products come from Algeria, the main sources of contraband are the two cities Sebta and Melilla which are the only entries into Europe and especially into Spain which seems to be the main source of contraband objects entering Morocco.

Another factor that promotes contraband phenomenon in Morocco and in other Arab Maghreb countries is the problem of unemployment. In this connection, a study that was conducted by an Arab organization indicates that population growth exceeds economic growth in Arab countries. As a result, the number of working people in the Arab world grows only by 3 per cent that puts the onus on responsible people in the Arab countries to create more job opportunities. In other words, the governments of the Arab countries have to provide more than 3 or 4 million job opportunities each year before the end of the current decade so as to decrease the rate of unemployment and to reduce the economic problems that are expected to grow more violently with the introduction of the free trade.

Free trade is going to have a very negative impact on the economies of poor countries. It is going to aggravate the economic crisis in the Arab Maghreb countries. In addition to free trade, the lack of good solutions to solve the problem of contraband will not only harm local production but also lead to the destruction of the local economy. This situation will cause the Moroccan country more social problems, including health problems, because smuggled goods are of a very bad quality and they can even contain polluted and toxic ingredients. A good example are the frequent cases of food poisoning that Morocco has witnessed recently. This indicates the danger of consuming smuggled food. Moreover, the spread of cancer disease in Morocco is also closely related to the consumption of smuggled food. In this connection, a research done by doctors and specialists has indicated that the spread of cancer in Morocco results from the consumption of harmful smuggled alimentary goods that might have contained nuclear radiations. Up to this point it becomes clear that contraband causes the country not only economic losses but also millions in money spent on health and safety.

In order to stop the growing danger of contraband that threatens both the health of the Moroccan citizen and the local economy the government has doubled its efforts to fight the evil phenomenon. The state has started with a closer surveillance in the two cities, Sebta and Mellilla, and it has been controlling the Spanish merchants who live in the two colonized cities. The Spanish merchants are professional contraband dealers who take advantage of common smugglers looking for money to survive. In addition to that, the government has launched a series of campaigns that are intended to urge the public to boycott contraband objects in view of the serious harm these products can cause. However, although the government is making much effort to combat contraband it is not easy at all to stop this phenomenon mainly due to two reasons. The first reason is unemployment and the lack of alternative goods and the second reason is the introduction of the free trade that allows European goods into the Moroccan market without any restrictions. As a result, the efforts made by the government to stop the invasion of contraband goods are not enough since the Moroccan citizen himself is unaware whether the goods sold in the Moroccan market are legally imported or smuggled.

Translated by Mariam Bouchama