The war in Ukraine initiated by Russia will certainly have an impact on most world economies, and Morocco will not escape it. In 2021, the Kingdom imported several products from Ukraine to the tune of 2 billion dirhams (2,697,408,778 dirhams), including wheat, barley and cereal grains. Today, several questions arise. Will Morocco still be able to count on Ukraine when it comes to importing wheat and cereals? Point.
Morocco imported 805,000 tonnes of wheat last January, compared to 338,000 tonnes in the same period in 2021, more than double. This increase comes following the poor agricultural campaign recorded in the kingdom and characterized by low rainfall, which will result in a significant drop in national cereal production.
While the war in Ukraine has only just begun, one wonders whether Morocco will be able to count on imports from this country of Eastern Europe in terms of wheat and cereals, on which Morocco depends heavily for its local consumption.
Solicited by MoroccoLatestNews UKMohamed Benmoumane, cereal carrier in Morocco and President of the Moroccan Federation of Road Transport of dump trucks, tells us that the war in Ukraine will have no impact on Moroccan imports of wheat and cereals.
“Our cereal and wheat import situation is good. Moroccan imports of cereals and wheat from Ukraine amount to only 26%. For this year 2022, Morocco has already stocked up on the material. It has a stock of cereals and common wheat (flour) until September 2022“, tells us this professional.
Thus, Morocco does not only depend on Ukraine for the import of wheat and cereals. It has other partners and importing countries, in particular Brazil, Argentina, the United States for soft wheat (flour), then France, the United Kingdom and Canada for durum wheat, we explains Mohamed Benmoumane.
But what will happen after the stock runs out in September 2022? How will Morocco make up for the 26% wheat and grain imports from Ukraine if the war persists? In response to this question, the president of the Moroccan Federation of Road Transport of dump trucks insists on the fact that the “Morocco does not depend on Ukraine“, noting that”very early on, Morocco diversified its sources of wheat imports so as not to depend on a single country or a single partner“.
In Morocco, the cereal sector is one of the main sectors of agricultural production in Morocco. It alone accounts for nearly 71% of the total Useful Agricultural Area (UAA) and generates 20% of overall agricultural turnover with fluctuations depending on the agricultural campaign. Between 2015 and 2019, Morocco produced some 80 million quintals of cereals against 64 million quintals between 2003 and 2008, reports the Ministry of Agriculture.
Despite this performance, only 55% of Moroccan cereal needs are covered by local production. Morocco therefore always resorts to the importation of this agricultural product given its paramount importance in the consumption of Moroccans.
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