July 20, 2012
Morocco's soft wheat production down 38% on year
Since June 2012 when this year's harvest season started, Morocco's production of soft wheat has plunged by 38% on year to 26 million quintals (equivalent to 2.6 million tonnes), the state-run grains authority ONICL said on its website.
Overall, the volume of grain held by traders at Moroccan grain terminals by the end of June increased by 6% on month to 25.3 quintals, which is sufficient to cover five months of the country's industrial milling requirements, ONICL said.
The government introduced an import duty of 17.5% on soft wheat and 170% on durum wheat starting from June 2012. The duties, however, will be suspended in the period from August till December 2012 to ensure uninterrupted supply of wheat in the market.
