https://arab.news/gmavd
- Morocco expects cereals output, including soft wheat, to double to 9 million metric tons this season
- Harvesting has also been hampered by labor shortages, aging equipment and prolonged rainfall
RABAT: Morocco will maintain a customs duty on soft wheat until August 31, effectively extending a halt to imports aimed at protecting the local harvest, the heads of the country’s grain traders association (FNCL) and millers federation (FNM) said on Thursday.
Authorities had introduced a 170 percent customs duty from June 1 to July 31 to deter imports and prioritize marketing of the local harvest.
The measure has now been extended for a further month because of the slow pace of collection of the domestic harvest, FNM President Moulay Abdelkader Alaoui and FNCL President Omar Yacoubi told Reuters by phone.
Morocco, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, expects cereals output, including soft wheat, to double to 9 million metric tons this season. However, only 0.5 million metric tons has been collected so far, well below the target of at least 1.5 million tons by the end of July, as many farmers keep the wheat for themselves, Alaoui said.
Harvesting has also been hampered by labor shortages, aging equipment and prolonged rainfall, sector professionals told Reuters in June.
Alaoui said that if the harvest continues to lag and import subsidies are not reinstated then Morocco, with its stockpiles covering up to three months of requirements, could face supply problems in the coming months amid higher prices on the international market.
Traders are waiting for a government decision on import subsidies to allow them to secure supplies for September, Alaoui said, warning that delays could further tighten supply conditions.
Last season, from June 2025 to May 31, 2026, France supplied 70 percent of Morocco’s 5.1 million tons of soft wheat imports, followed by Argentina, Russia and Germany, according to FNCL data.