by Abdelfettah Fakihani

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RABAT, Aug 20, 2008 (AFP) - With the holy month of Ramadan approaching, Moroccans are stocking up on increasingly expensive foodstuffs, while their government resorts to special measures to avoid running out of supplies.

Ramadan, when Muslims observe a month of fasting and spiritual reflection, falls this year in September. During this period, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, observing one of the four basic duties of Islam.

Already, women are flocking to the market to buy traditional Ramadan staples, including chebbakia, a traditional fried honey-and-flour pastry, dates and harira, a special soup.

But those markets that can keep up with demand are not selling cheaply.

Nadia and her mother Daouia left the Bab El Had fish market empty-handed, having found the price of sardines, at 20 dirhams (1.80 euros, 2.70 dollars) a kilogramme too steep.

It was the same story for whiting, at 65 dirham, and swordfish, at 110 dirham.

"I am a teacher, I have four children and I find the price very high," said Nadia. "This year, without even taking Ramadan into account, prices have rocketed."

The price of flour had already risen so much that she could no longer afford to buy bread, which in any case was of very poor quality, she added.

Official statistics confirm Nadia's view from the market place. They record a 9.1 percent rise in food products in July, as opposed to just 1.8 percent for non-food-related goods.

The general cost of living index rose 5.1 percent in July compared to the same period last year, according to the government's High Commission for Planning.

Since August 16, the government has opened up the market in flour imports by suspending customs tariffs, in a bid to maintain a normal supply during Ramadan.

In the first half of 2008 already, it spent 6.5 billion dirhams (570 million euros) importing 1.9 million tonnes of wheat -- twice the amount for the same period the previous year, according to official figures.

Measures have also been taken to secure the supply of staples such as milk, oil, sugar and vegetables.

"The rise has hit us hard," said Ahmed Salahi, 73, who works as a water carrier and who is forbidden to operate in tourists districts because he does not have a permit.

The left-wing Liberation newspaper's headline Tuesday declared: "The cost of living is close to being unsustainable."

"Food inflation should stay high (because of) the price of the main agricultural crops has gone up," it added.

Le Matin, a newspaper close to the government, took the same view: the rise of prices had not given consumers any respite since 2007, it noted. And it forecast another significant jump in inflation for the current quarter.

"It is demand that is going to suffer during Ramadan, not supply," labour union activist Mohamed Hakech told AfP.

"For four months, about 40 products have seen price rises, sometimes very steep," he said. The authorities needed to be vigilant of monopolies and of speculation, he added.

aff/jj/rom

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