Moroccan tobacco retailers, known as “Sakkat”, have officially decided to boycott major tobacco distribution companies after Ramadan. The move is aimed at pressuring companies to increase profit margins for retailers, which have remained unchanged for decades.
The Moroccan Union of Traders and Professionals, affiliated with the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), announced that professionals across the country will launch a warning boycott of all products from S.M.T., the company that offers the lowest profit margins to retailers. The boycott is scheduled to take place from April 2 to April 16, 2025, with the possibility of an extension.
Describing the action as a “warning boycott”, the union urged all professional associations defending traders’ rights to join the initiative responsibly. According to a statement from the union’s national office, this decision follows the January 10, 2025, meeting with tobacco retailers, where they highlighted the challenges faced by “Sakkat” owners and agreed on an escalating protest program to combat what they described as the “greed of tobacco companies.”
The union stated that the boycott decision was also driven by the failure of previous attempts to engage in dialogue with the company. The statement criticized the company’s refusal to negotiate, calling for an immediate response to traders’ demands and a meeting to discuss their profit margin concerns.
Speaking to Hespress AR, Issa Ouchout, the National Secretary of the Moroccan Union of Traders and Professionals, said:
“This decision comes after weeks of deliberation among professionals to push tobacco distribution companies to offer fair profit margins for retail points (Sakkat). We agreed that any company offering low margins would be subject to a boycott.”
He further explained that the targeted company holds a significant share of Morocco’s tobacco market but offers one of the lowest profit margins—only 4.3%, compared to other companies that provide up to 6%. He noted that previous attempts at dialogue had been ignored.
The union has decided to begin the boycott immediately after Ramadan, as tobacco sales are typically lower during the holy month. This period will also be used to mobilize professionals and make a final attempt at negotiations with the company.
Ouchout emphasized that the boycott is not intended to disrupt the tobacco supply chain in Morocco. He argued that excluding one company from the market would allow other companies, including foreign brands, to fill the supply gap.
However, he did not rule out expanding the boycott to all tobacco companies if profit margins remain insufficient across the industry.
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