Morocco expects to lose 53% of its cereals harvest after experiencing its worst drought in decades. Agriculture minister Mohammed Sadiki made the announcement and said Moroccan farmers have sown 3.5 million hectares with cereals this year, of which 44% was planted with soft wheat, 24% with durum and 32% with barley.
Only 21% of plantations were in a good condition and 16% showed average conditions. According to the USDA, wheat production has reduced by 60% in the region. Morocco usually puts tariffs on wheat in summer to protect local farmers. But because of small production, the typical duties have been scrapped.
Increasing imports
Bad harvest has led to Morocco increasing imports to meet demand. The domestic consumption is appropriately at 47.1 million tons. But the production is only at 17.4 million tons. The drought affecting the rest of North Africa has not affected Egypt much because there is more area under irrigation. The Moroccan wheat imports increased from 5.1 million tons in 2019 – 20 to 5.8 million tons this year. But the startling fact is that the imports were only 3.7 million tons in 2018-19. So in the past two years, imports have massively increased.
The Ministry of Agriculture (MAD), is however still optimistic about Morocco’s agricultural GDP. They say that it will not drop by more than 5%. Except for cereals, all other crops are doing quite well. The MAD notes that citrus fruits and olive trees demonstrate good production prospects. Even though the production of wheat has been low, good rainfall might benefit the farmers. The growth in other agricultural products will offset the loss due to cereals.
