Rabat – Morocco’s grain production is expected to reach 11.1 million tonnes this year, up from 3.4 million tonnes in the 2020-2021 season, according to the International Grains Council (IGC).
The overall increase in production output is supported by a robust wheat production, rising to 8.1 million tonnes this year, up from 2.6 million recorded last year, the IGC specified.
Barley output also increased to 2.8 million tons from last year’s 600,000 tons.
The rise in grain output is projected to positively impact Morocco’s grain imports. As local production increases, grain imports are set to drop to seven million tons this year, down from 8.4 million tons imported in 2020-21.
Despite the robust harvest yield, Morocco is a major importer of grain given that wheat is central to the local diet.
Morocco’s harvest yield is largely contingent on the climate. This year’s positive output was thanks to abundant rainfall, up by 32% from the previous year, with Chaouia, Abda, Haouz, Tadla, and Sais regions recording 44% higher yields than the 10-year average, according to government data.
Read Also: Artificial Intelligence, a Huge Potential for Morocco’s Agriculture
The Moroccan government is forecasting a return to normalcy for Morocco’s wheat imports in 2021-22, projecting 4.5 million tons of wheat imports.
Morocco’s common wheat suppliers are France, Ukraine, and Russia, with Canada being the country’s primary supplier as US wheat remains beyond the average Moroccan’s purchasing power.
Given grains’ central role in the national diet, the government actively subsidizes prices through a special agency to ensure relative stability.
The National Inter-Professional Office for Cereals and Legumes (ONICL) oversees wheat prices to maintain them strictly under a $280 per tonne threshold. Specifically, the agency supports low-income consumers by directly subsidizing “National Flour,” wheat flour.
