Morocco is moving to secure its national cereal stocks after an exceptional harvest. The Council of Government adopted a new draft decree presented by the Minister of Economy and Finance concerning soft wheat and its derivatives, which extends the collection of import duties on soft wheat and derivatives, along with their suspension.
The move gives government measures adopted earlier this summer to support farmers during the harvest a new deadline. Alongside the decree, an amended circular from the National Interprofessional Cereals and Legumes Office (ONICL) extends the “primable” collection period — during which purchases qualify for support premiums — to the end of August, rather than the end of July as originally planned. The collection window now runs from June 1 to August 31, 2026, adjustable depending on how collection and supply progress.
Storage operators purchasing nationally produced soft wheat from the 2026 harvest during this window will receive a warehousing premium of 2.50 dirhams per quintal per fortnight, paid on stocks held in ONICL-registered depots, calculated on the basis of two fortnights per month.
Separately, to build a strategic national stock, purchases made during the collection period will also qualify for a storage premium of 3.00 dirhams per quintal per fortnight starting September 1, 2026. The maximum eligible quantity is set at 8 million quintals between September and October 2026, dropping to 6 million quintals for November-December, and 4 million quintals for January-February 2027 — with the ceilings for each period non-cumulative.
The measures follow a bumper harvest. Agriculture Minister Ahmed El Bouari said earlier this year that cereal production for the 2025-2026 season should reach close to 90 million quintals, helped by abundant rainfall across growing regions that expanded the area planted with cereals to roughly 3.9 million hectares — a marked improvement after several years of drought.
