Morocco suspends new food export permits and raises basic aid to MAD 600
At its weekly meeting on Thursday, the government in Rabat suspended new export permits for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, raised the minimum direct social aid payment from MAD 500 to MAD 600 from January, and approved the transformation of the airports office into a joint-stock company.
Key points
- The Council of Government suspended new export permits for tomatoes, potatoes and onions on 12 November 2026. 1
- Head of Government Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri chaired the Council of Government meeting on 12 November 2026. 1
- The minimum flat-rate direct social aid payment rises from MAD 500 to MAD 600 a month from 1 January 2027. 1
- Draft law No. 06.25 transforms the National Airports Office (ONDA) into a joint-stock company named Aéroports du Maroc S.A. 1
- The government announced MAD 400 million in additional direct subsidies to road transport professionals on 5 November 2026. 1
Three readings of the same result
Same facts, different frames. Each reading names its outlets and what it emphasizes.
Europe watches the vegetable shelves.
From a Western perspective, the measure is read first as a domestic supply decision, because European buyers watch Moroccan vegetable supply closely and the earlier pause on tomato exports to African markets was reported by Reuters on 5 November amid high prices at home.
Key detail The suspension of new permits, rather than a ban on shipments in general, is therefore seen abroad as an attempt to keep more produce available…
The East lens looks through energy prices.
No independent Eastern outlet reported this domestic Council of Government session, and that absence is stated plainly here rather than filled in with a substitute account.
Key detail The Eastern lens therefore reads the backdrop instead of the session itself, and that backdrop runs through energy markets, because the African Development Bank attributes…
African partners and Moroccan readers weigh the balance.
From a Global South perspective, the balance the government is trying to strike is the central point, because the suspension is aimed at domestic supply while the government stressed preserving farmers’ interests and commercial relationships with African partners.
Key detail That emphasis matters because the pause reported on 5 November concerned African markets in particular, so African buyers and partners are directly affected by any…
Sources by lens: 2 West, 0 East, 7 Global South. See every source
The story
Three decisions, one message to households
Morocco’s Council of Government, chaired on Thursday 12 November 2026 by Head of Government Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, approved a purchasing-power package built around three decisions that touch market stalls, household budgets and the country’s airports at the same time. The first temporarily suspends new export permits and authorisations for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, while the second raises the minimum flat-rate direct social aid payment and the third transforms the National Airports Office into a joint-stock company.
Announcing the export measure, El Mansouri said that protecting household purchasing power remains the government’s foremost priority, and the package was presented as a way to protect domestic supplies while preserving farmers’ interests and commercial relationships with African partners, after recent increases in vegetable prices. The decision follows the report on 5 November that Morocco had paused tomato exports to African markets amid high prices at home, as covered in Morocco’s earlier pause on tomato exports to Africa.
What does the export freeze change at the market stall?
The suspension applies to new export permits and authorisations only, and it is not a ban on shipments in general, while no duration was announced. Alongside it, the government set up an interministerial committee to monitor prices, strengthened daily price monitoring, and announced action against speculation and market concentration, together with preparations for demand during Ramadan and continued exceptional fuel subsidies for road transport operators.
Under draft decree No. 2.26.838, amending law 58.23 on direct social assistance, the minimum flat-rate direct social aid payment rises from MAD 500 to MAD 600 a month from 1 January 2027, an increase of 20 percent, with further increases later and a target of MAD 1,000 by 2031. Under draft law No. 06.25, the National Airports Office, known as ONDA, becomes a joint-stock company named Aéroports du Maroc S.A., which will manage air navigation services and state-owned airport assets, while subsidiaries operate airports under concession agreements. The change is part of a wider overhaul of state-owned enterprises under Framework Law 50.21 and Law 82.20, through ANGSPE, and it was announced by government spokesperson Samir Belfkih.
How long will the pause last, and what will it cost?
The government has not announced how long the suspension of new export permits will remain in place, nor the conditions under which new permits will resume, so it is unknown whether the measure will last for weeks or for a longer period. It is also unknown how permits already granted before the decision will be treated, and whether farmers and exporters affected by the pause will receive any support or compensation.
Whether the package will move retail prices for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, and how quickly any change would reach households, remains unknown, because the effect will depend on supply, distribution and intermediaries as well as on the measure itself. The timetable for the transformation of ONDA, the terms of the future concession agreements, the schedule of further aid increases after January 2027, and the detailed Ramadan preparations have not been set out so far.
Why households feel this package first
Vegetables are a daily purchase for Moroccan households, so a rise in the price of tomatoes, potatoes and onions is felt immediately, and the export decision is therefore aimed at the part of the household budget where pressure is most visible. The increase in direct aid matters in the same way, because it raises the floor of monthly support, from MAD 500 to MAD 600 from January, on a path towards MAD 1,000 by 2031.
That support is already substantial, since lump-sum aid payments from December 2023 to December 2025 totalled MAD 18.2 billion to nearly 1.47 million households, and the 2026 envelope for lump-sum aid alone is MAD 9 billion. The backdrop is one of external pressure, because the African Development Bank assessed on 12 November that Morocco could face an additional MAD 40 to 50 billion in energy imports in 2026, or 2.5 to 3 percent of GDP, as Middle East tensions lift fuel and commodity prices. Preserving commercial relationships with African partners matters in this setting, as described in Africa closing ranks behind Morocco’s autonomy plan.
A package built for January, not only for Thursday
The three decisions form a single sequence, because the export suspension addresses supply in the short term, the rise in direct aid addresses household income from January, and the transformation of ONDA addresses a state-owned enterprise for the longer term. The aid decision continues a programme set out on 19 October 2026, when El Mansouri presented the government programme for 2026 to 2031 to parliament and pledged to double minimum direct social assistance from MAD 500 to MAD 1,000 a month by the end of the mandate, with targeting by actual household income, replacing the Unified Social Registry index, and automatic compensation of the monthly electricity bill up to MAD 100.
The transport side follows the same logic, since the government announced on 5 November MAD 400 million in additional direct subsidies to road transport professionals, covering about 200,000 vehicles, a 60 percent increase on the initial tranche, paid every 15 days from 10 November. The same briefing raised widows’ pensions to 100 percent of the deceased spouse’s pension, with the minimum pension rising from MAD 1,000 to MAD 1,700, and set out six regional companies to be created next year to organise markets and regulate distribution. The government also ruled out capping fuel companies’ profit margins or cutting fuel taxes.
What happens if prices stay high through Ramadan?
The second-order question is Ramadan, because demand rises sharply during the holy month and the government has already linked its preparations for that demand to the export suspension and to stronger price monitoring. If prices remain high despite the suspension, the pressure will fall on the interministerial committee and on daily monitoring, and on the six regional companies planned for next year to organise markets and regulate distribution, which are intended to address the structure of distribution rather than a single season.
The budget context adds a further layer, since the Finance and Economic Development Committee approved Part One of Draft Finance Bill No. 60.26 for 2027 on Wednesday 11 November, by 23 votes to 18, after debate on nearly 290 amendments, with Economy and Finance Minister Fouzi Lekjaa present. The headline amendment gives relief to the self-employed, with the turnover threshold for services to the same client exempt from withholding rising from MAD 80,000 to MAD 100,000, and the rate above it falling from 30 percent to 20 percent from 1 January 2027, for about 430,000 registered businesses, while Lekjaa warned against misuse of the status to disguise employment. Plenary debate and a vote follow on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, and the bill also lets informal businesses register without retrospective tax claims.
Three things to watch before January
The first thing to watch is whether the government announces a duration or conditions for resuming new export permits, and whether daily price monitoring shows a change in retail prices for tomatoes, potatoes and onions in the coming weeks. The second is the parliamentary path of the 2027 budget, with plenary debate and a vote on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, and the detailed preparations for Ramadan demand, including the work of the interministerial committee and the action announced against speculation and market concentration.
The third is implementation, because the rise in direct aid takes effect on 1 January 2027, the further increases towards MAD 1,000 by 2031 will need a published schedule, and the transformation of ONDA into Aéroports du Maroc S.A. will need a timetable and concession terms. Each step will show whether a package announced in a single Council of Government meeting becomes a sustained change in household purchasing power, as described in the earlier account of Morocco pausing tomato exports.
What we agree on, and what remains open
Established
- The Council of Government on 12 November 2026 approved a temporary suspension of new export permits for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, a rise in minimum direct social aid from MAD 500 to MAD 600 from 1 January 2027, and the transformation of ONDA into Aéroports du Maroc S.A.
Contested
- Whether suspending new export permits will bring retail vegetable prices down without hurting farmers and export earnings, and the opposition’s 18 votes against Part One of the 2027 budget show that the wider economic package is contested in parliament.
Still open
- How long the export-permit suspension lasts, since no duration was announced, and whether the measures will move retail prices for households.
What to watch
Questions, answered
The Council of Government approved three decisions: a temporary suspension of new export permits for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, a rise in minimum direct social aid from MAD 500 to MAD 600 from 1 January 2027, and the transformation of the National Airports Office into Aéroports du Maroc S.A., alongside stronger price monitoring and continued fuel subsidies for road transport operators.
The minimum flat-rate direct social aid payment rises from MAD 500 to MAD 600 a month, an increase of 20 percent, with further increases planned in later years towards a target of MAD 1,000 by 2031. The self-employed withholding rate above the turnover threshold also falls from 30 percent to 20 percent from the same date.
The National Airports Office, known as ONDA, becomes a joint-stock company named Aéroports du Maroc S.A., or Morocco Airports. The new entity manages air navigation services and state-owned airport assets, while subsidiaries operate airports under concession agreements, as part of a wider overhaul of state-owned enterprises.
No duration has been announced, so the length of the suspension is unknown. The government described the measure as temporary and limited it to new export permits and authorisations for tomatoes, potatoes and onions, rather than a ban on shipments in general, and the conditions for resuming permits have not been published.