Morocco is one of the top 5 African food-importing countries, reveals the latest semi-annual report Food Outlook published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This position attests to the great progress that Morocco is making in the food sector. The report indicates that, among African countries, Egypt leads with 15% of food imports, followed by Algeria with 12%, South Africa with 9%, then Morocco and Nigeria which share the same position with 7%. These five countries mainly source their supplies from emerging markets such as Brazil and India, as well as from Europe.
In addition, experts predict growth in global food imports, but at a much slower pace compared to last year. According to their estimates, the global food bill is expected to reach $1.98 trillion in 2023, an increase of only 1.5% from the previous year, compared to an increase of 11% in 2022 and 18% in 2021. .
This decline in growth is mainly explained by the increase in world prices, which mainly affected fruits, vegetables, sugar and dairy products, and constitutes the main cause of this slowdown, underlines the report, noting that this inflation curbs demand.
Separately, the report predicts a 3% decline in global wheat production this year from its record high of 777 million tonnes in 2022. In contrast, global coarse grain production is expected to increase by 3% to 1 513 million tonnes, thanks to a significant increase in corn production in the United States and a record harvest in Brazil.
Experts believe this will lead to greater overall availability and lower prices. Along the same lines, world rice production is expected to increase by 1.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 523.5 million tonnes.