Black Sea Grain
Morocco’s government-subsidised grain insurance programme exceeded the target by 13 per cent because farmers are concerned about drought damaging the 2011-12 crop, the US Department of Agriculture’s attache in Rabat said.
Rainfall since Septemper 1 is down 43 per cent from last year, Idriss El Honsali, in the US embassy in Rabat, said in a report on the USDA’s website.
Morocco’s wheat imports were resumed in November following the suspension of import duties, which took effect November 15 to February 29, according to the report.
As of mid January, soft wheat imports were estimated at 1.185 million metric tonnes, down 10 per cent from a year earlier, with France providing 77 per cent of the supplies, Russia 9 per cent and Ukraine 7 per cent, Honsali said. Morocco’s suspension of the wheat import duties has made the tariff rate quota for US wheat exports ineffective until March 1, according to the report.
