The Ministry of Industry and Trade is preparing a project within the framework of a law regulating distribution and internal trade, which aims to protect small merchants from fierce competition from Turkish “Bim” stores, as a result of their expansion in various Moroccan cities, and the opening of shops in popular neighborhoods, Where the small grocery stores are stationed.
The features of the project that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is preparing to protect small merchants from the competition of “Bim” stores have not yet crystallized, as protection can take several aspects, such as reviewing the opening and closing hours of supermarkets, in order to allow more space for small merchants to practice their trade.
The Minister of Industry and Trade, Riad Mazour, in his response to the interventions of the members of the Parliament’s Productive Sectors Committee, during the session discussing the budget of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, expressed his understanding of the difficult situation experienced by small merchants as a result of the competition of “Bim” stores and supermarkets, promising to take measures to protect them.
The government official said: “People have money like Kimchio for Bim, and many don’t have Kimchio Ycredio at the Hanout Mall,” pointing out that among the procedures that the Ministry is considering applying to “Bim” stores is reviewing the products they sell, and the space that will be allowed for them by exploiting it.
Mazour indicated that small merchants do not find a solution when their trade stagnates as a result of competition other than closing their shops and moving to a place far from competition, or converting the shop into a space to practice another business, adding: “We have to find a solution, such as closing competing stores to make room for The field for small merchants to sell during the night period.
Among the other solutions that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is considering adopting in order to raise the level of competition for small merchants is to help them market their products, through digitizing distribution to expand the scope of their offer, indicating that the generalization of social protection is an important element in improving the social status of small merchants. .
In recent years, the Moroccan government has taken a number of measures aimed at reducing products coming from Turkey, after it became clear that the free trade agreement between the two countries was not in Morocco's interest. These measures made it possible to make 65 percent of the products sold by BIM stores Moroccan, according to data provided by the Minister of Industry and Trade.
On the other hand, the Minister of Industry and Trade touched on the problem of trade in the informal sector, considering that the efforts exerted to organize this sector enabled the integration of 380 thousand street vendors as self-contractors.
Despite the criticism directed at peddlers by shopkeepers, the Minister of Industry and Trade considered that there is an intricate relationship between the two parties, because the goods sold by peddlers are purchased from shopkeepers.
