By Souhail Karam
RABAT, April 13 (Reuters) – Morocco’s state-run grains authority ONICL said on Friday it had bought 180,000 tonnes of soft wheat as the north African country braced for a sharp drop in this year’s cereals harvest, but private traders said the deal did not involve new imports.
ONICL bought the wheat at between 2,470 dirhams and 2,900 dirhams per tonne ($290-$343) under an April 10 tender that gave importers 90 days to deliver the purchased wheat, according to an announcement on its website.
The wheat will be destined to make subsidised wheat flour.
ONICL did not specify the origin of the wheat. An ONICL official has said the tender may involve the purchase of home-grown wheat stocked by authorized operators.
Two authorized operators, who took part in the tender, said ONICL’s latest purchase did not involve new imports.
“This purchase did not call for new imports at all,” said one of the two operators. “It did include home-grown wheat and some European origins which explains the wide price bracket for this purchase. But all of the purchased wheat was already here.”
ONICL’s 180,000 tonnes tender was the first by the authority since the government extended in late-February a suspension of import duties on soft wheat until the end of April and on durum wheat until the end of May.
On March 2, the finance ministry said Morocco will import between 1 million and 1.1 million tonnes of soft wheat during the March-May period of this year after the government extended the import duty suspension.
In March alone, the country of 33.5 million people imported 320,000 tonnes of soft wheat, of which 230,000 tonnes was from France and 20,000 tonnes from Argentina, in deals led by private importers, industry sources said.
March also saw the import of 60,000 tonnes of durum wheat, equally split between French and Canadian origins, 120,000 tonnes of barley, including 50,000 tonnes from France and 30,000 tonnes from Argentina, they added.
ONICL said by the end of March, Morocco’s stocks stood at 1.35 million tonnes of soft wheat, 130,000 tonnes of barley, 160,000 tonnes of durum and 220,000 tonnes of maize. A month earlier, the figures stood at 1.43 million tonnes for soft wheat, 80,000 tonnes for barley, 180,000 tonnes for durum and 110,000 tonnes for maize. (Editing by James Jukwey)
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