Poland Deploys Grain Mission to Morocco
Talk to our team about AgFlow's offering →
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Polish Grain mission to Morocco was organized by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rabat in June. The event was aimed at promoting Poland’s export offer. The mission began with the conference “Polish Grain – Potential and Prospects for Morocco”, attended by Moroccan Government Institutions, sectoral federations, private importers, and Polish exporters.
Mohammed Sebgui, Director of ONICL’s main Grain regulator, stressed during the event how important it is to strengthen relations with countries with production surpluses, especially during changes in global supply chains and another year of severe drought in the region. The mission’s participants had the opportunity to hold numerous face-to-face meetings and field visits, during which they visited the largest Moroccan Grain importers, who account for the majority of domestic imports: Zine Capital Invest, Anouar Invest, Cap Holding, Gromik, Izda, and Alf Sahel.
Moroccans import about 10 million tons of Grain annually, including almost 5 million tons of Wheat. There are private entities operating in the sector, but the market is heavily regulated. Customs duties are periodically introduced to protect local crops or subsidize Grain imports to ensure supplies are within fixed prices.
The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco sets a fixed price for bread at 1.20 dirhams, which is why flour (350 dirhams/q) and Grain (260 dirhams/q) are also regulated. Last year, the world’s very high price of Wheat, periodically reaching up to 600 EUR/t, meant that state subsidies reached more than half of the value of imports. Until the end of May of this year, importers could benefit from subsidies – many increased orders and stocked up to ensure uninterrupted delivery to mills for the coming months.
Grain production in the Kingdom of Morocco accounts for almost 1/4 of the value of all agricultural products and occupies 71% of the country’s area. The Wheat yield in Morocco is no more than 4 t/ha (almost three times less than in Poland), and the total harvest can, on average, reach about 3 million tons. However, little of the native harvest goes to the central mills due to inferior yields, which are practically enough only for direct consumption and animal feed.
The Moroccan milling sector is very well organized and efficient. Moroccan companies have extensive facilities in Grain storage and infrastructure for the production of flour, couscous, cookies, and pasta. Companies such as Zine or Anouar grind about 50,000 tons of Grain per month and value Polish Wheat due to its high protein content and quality of supply, treating it as a desirable premium product.
Wheat Export to Morocco
Since 2020 customs duties were abolished, Polish Wheat exports to Morocco have noted record results – in 2021, it was almost half a million tons. By May of this year, imports amounted to 128 thousand tons. France and Germany are still the largest suppliers, supplying 3.1 and 1.2 million tons respectively to the Moroccan market last year.
According to AgFlow data, Poland exported 0.3 million tons of Wheat in July 2023. Key markets were Nigeria (64,365 tons), South Africa (55,000 tons), and Tanzania (50,600 tons).
The leading destination is Casablanca, but the Grain is also unloaded in Tangier, Nador, Agadir, and Jorf. The latter is currently the only port in Morocco adapted to cargo weighing 60,000 tons – work is underway to adjust the port of Casablanca as well. Grain is mainly exported by global intermediaries and exporters such as Dreyfus, ADN, or Viterra.
A few days after the Polish mission, ONICL published a circular concerning subsidies for Wheat imports from July 1 to September 30 this year, in the maximum amount of 25 million quintals (2.5 million tons). Aid will be granted if the import price of Grain exceeds 270 dirhams (approx. EUR 25) per quintal.
Other sources: PAIH
Try AgFlow Free
Access Free On Updates for Corn, Wheat, Soybean,
Barley, and Sunflower Oil.
No Credit Card Required & Unlimited Access In Time
