Morocco’s grain crop is expected to double this season after heavy winter rains boosted moisture levels and dam reserves, traders and millers said, adding that recent floods in the country’s northwest are unlikely to significantly affect overall output.
Moulay Abdelkader Alaoui, head of the National Federation of Millers, told Reuters the sector plans to add locally produced wheat to strategic reserves this year.
Omar Yaacoubi, head of the national federation of cereals traders, told Reuters that total grain production is forecast between 8 and 9 million tonnes, including roughly 5 million tonnes of soft wheat.
Last season, Morocco had a cereals harvest of 4.4 million tonnes.
Floods in the fertile northwest damaged 110,000 hectares, but Yaacoubi said the impact is “limited” and will be offset by higher yields elsewhere.
Morocco reinstates customs duties during bumper seasons to prioritize the local harvest.
But this year, however, importers, millers and traders have asked the government to extend wheat import subsidies to June 1, instead of ending them on May 1, to offset weather‑related costs incurred due to delayed shipping, Reuters said.
Storms since mid‑December have disrupted Casablanca and Jorf Lasfar ports, delaying wheat shipments. Around 70 vessels carrying nearly 1 million tonnes were waiting offshore this week, pushing up costs for importers.
