Morocco: Women-led argan oil co-ops struggle amid corporate takeover

Moroccan argan oil cooperatives, long associated with empowering women and producing high-quality oil, are now struggling for survival brought on by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and big business, according to a report by Equal Times.

“We retained only a third of our customers during this crisis,” explains Jamila Idbourrous, director of the Union des Coopératives des Femmes de l’Arganeraie (UCFA). Nine of UCFA’s 18 cooperatives have shut down, with others barely operational.

Idbourrous adds that the global craze for the oil, driven by the cosmetics industry has meant “everyone wants a share of the value chain and women are gradually being excluded.”

🇲🇦Faced with competition from big business, Morocco’s argan oil cooperatives are being forced to close – and women workers are paying the price

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At the Igbar cooperative, production has plummeted. “Today, there is so little work that we rotate shifts,” says Fatima El Mehni, president of the cooperative, which now produces just 50 litres of oil, down from 3,000 litres pre-pandemic.

Illegal harvesting during lockdown further strained the cooperatives. “When the cooperatives reopened, there was no fruit left,” remarks Zoubida Charrouf. The price of argan fruit surged from around $0.20 (2 dirhams) to around $1.20 per kilo (12 dirhams), leaving cooperatives unable to compete.

Cosmetics corporate takeovers have worsened the crisis, the report notes. “Olvéa and other large companies now control 70% of the market,” says Fatima Amehri, president of the Ida Imtat cooperative. The dominance of multinational firms has marginalised small cooperatives, reducing their share of the market. “We have only made minimal profits over the years, limiting our growth,” Amehri adds.

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