The owners of cold stores in Dakhla and Laayoune are still clashing with the authorities over octopus prices.

Having failed in their attempt to have the biological ban extended, cold store owners now fear greater financial losses as the Ministry of Fisheries pushes ahead with price deregulation for octopus exports, as new season inventories are beginning to accumulate.
The cold store owners called on Taieb Rhafes to postpone price deregulation until 30 August to give them an opportunity to clear their previous season inventories – of approximately 10,000 tonnes - and reduce their losses which now are near DAH 200 million, reports L’ economiste.
But the Minister is currently on tour abroad. And while the sector waits for his response some cold stores owners are warning they may take legal action against the Ministry to defend their rights. Initially, the government has set the date at 15 June for frozen octopus stocks to be sold off.
The members of the Parliamentary Fisheries Commission tried to reach an agreement between the two parties, but failed.
The Ministry points out the root of this problem is not the octopus export price deregulation but the fact that the number of cold stores has increased over the last few years, from five in 1995 to almost a hundred now. And disagreements within the Cold Stores Association are preventing the parties to reach an agreement on a single price.
A government official said the owners should set a price in agreement with the deep-sea fishermen, instead of taking their problems to the Ministry. The authorities consider price deregulation a strategic economic option and say fishing professionals should adapt to this new situation.
Some analysts argue that Japanese buyers are to blame for intensifying the conflict between the deep-sea fishermen and the cold store owners over the octopus price. They claim the Japanese put pressure on small-scale businesses that have large debts, forcing them to sell at the low prices set by the buyers, which are below the recommended prices set by the Octopus Market and Price Monitoring Committee.
Source : by FIS