Morocco Ramps Up Wheat Imports as Drought Persists for Fifth Year

Faced with a 5th consecutive year of drought, Morocco is multiplying its imports of soft wheat. Once again, the kingdom is turning to the international market to meet its needs. Soft wheat accounts for nearly 70% of total wheat consumption in urban areas and 66% in rural areas. The Moroccan Interprofessional Office of Cereals and Legumes (ONICL) says that Morocco will grant subsidies to import up to 2 million tons of soft wheat between October 1 and December 31. The import program for the October-December period has been approved by the Moroccan Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, with the details of the subsidies to be published separately, ONICL said in a note posted on its website.

In June, the Office had set up an import restitution system for soft wheat for the benefit of operators. This system consists of the implementation of a flat-rate premium to be paid by the State in favor of importers in the event that the average exit price from the port is higher than 270 dirhams per quintal. This premium corresponds to the difference between the average exit price from the port for the month and the rate of $2.7/tonne. Subsidies had thus made it possible to acquire a stock of 2.5 million tons of soft wheat on the international market between July and September 2023. As the country’s import needs are estimated at around 5 million tons for this season, further subsidies were needed to import more of this cereal. The maintenance of import subsidies could also be due to a deficit in entries from July-September compared to the target of 2.5 million tons, believes a European trader.

With 1.2 million tons of soft wheat shipped by mid-September, the European Union is Morocco’s main supplier so far this season, according to EU data. About 100,000 tons of Russian wheat have been imported.