Morocco Seeks to Import 4 Million Quintals of Wheat to Boost Strategic Reserves

This is the second call for tenders launched by the National Interprofessional Office of Cereals and Legumes (ONICL), reports Medias 24, according to which the first one that had been initiated and which concerned the same quantities did not make it possible to cover the demands of the State. Of the 3 million quintals of soft wheat requested, only 1.36 million quintals were secured and no offer was made for durum wheat, the site specifies.

The new contract covers three million quintals of soft wheat and one million quintals of durum wheat for a period of two months. The maximum storage premium for strategic cereals is 5 dirhams per quintal per month. The maximum cost for the State is 40 million dirhams. The opening of the bids for this call for tenders is scheduled for May 17. The quantities must be carried out no later than May 31 and justified by the certificates of call and import, the same source points out.

Questioned about the situation of wheat exports, a member of the National Federation of Millers (FNM) confided to the online newspaper that "we cannot do strategic storage during this lean period when prices are high."

And to explain that this logic prevailed in the responses to the first call for tenders. "If no operator has responded to durum wheat, it is because the prices are too high and the operators import at a tight price," he explained.