Algeria Set to Surpass Morocco as Africa’s Second-Largest Wheat Producer in 2024

Is Algeria stealing the limelight from Morocco in terms of wheat production? In a report released on May 10, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects Algerian wheat production to be higher than its neighbor Morocco, reports Jeune Afrique in an article titled: "On the wheat market, Algeria should overtake Morocco in 2024". With 3 million tons, Algeria will replace Morocco and occupy the second place among African wheat producing countries during the 2024-2025 campaign. Algerian production was around 2.70 million tons last year, an increase of 11% compared to the previous campaign. This increase is favored by favorable climatic conditions in the central and eastern regions adjacent to Tunisia. With this production, Algeria has enough to meet its needs for the current campaign.

In Morocco, the situation is far from rosy. The kingdom will produce 2.5 million tons this year compared to 4.2 million tons the previous year, a 39% decrease in its production compared to 2023. At the origin of this drop in production, Moroccan wheat, "which grows largely without irrigation (rainfed)", is facing "a severe shortage of precipitation in the vast growing areas of the center and south, leading to a drop in production", explains the pan-African magazine, adding that it is likely that the affected fields will not be harvested, but "left available to livestock as fodder".

Morocco should therefore import or even increase its wheat imports to meet its needs. The country should source from France or Russia.