Morocco Boosts Cereal Reserves Amid 42% Drop in Wheat and Barley Production

A cereal production of 16.5 million quintals for soft wheat, 7.5 million quintals for durum wheat and 5.8 million quintals for barley was expected. Despite the expected decline, the supply of cereals on the Moroccan markets will remain constant, as the authorities have taken early action to ensure that the stock can cover the needs of citizens for more than four and a half months, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also specifies that with forecasts based on a meager cereal harvest, "the volume of imports amounted to 3.5 million tons, until the end of April". A 38% increase that comes after "the freedom given to importers to seize opportunities on international markets", especially since Morocco has suspended customs duties on wheat, according to l’Opinion.

Currently, Morocco is protected from shortages, as it has stored half of the annual needs of millers in silos. According to the newspaper, "the trend should continue to intensify as several large cereal ships are expected in the next two months in Casablanca, Jorf Lasfar and Agadir. The drought coupled with the coronavirus (covid-19) crisis is pushing many countries to increase their purchases in order to "secure supplies of agricultural and food products". The daily cites the example of the Asian continent, where "many countries are rushing to rice with huge imports".

According to the same source, "Russia has decided to temporarily suspend its cereal exports (wheat, barley, corn, rye), Ukraine has almost reached its export quota for wheat". Other countries like France have even "revised upwards their forecasts for cereal exports".