Morocco's s.wheat imports at 2.9 mln T before drought

Morocco closed the 2012 import season with 2.9 million tonnes in soft wheat and 1.74 million tonnes in maize, official data showed on Tuesday, as Rabat gears up for higher import needs after drought slashed this year’s harvest.

State cereals authority ONICL also said imports of durum wheat and barley stood at 650,000 and 620,000 tonnes respectively in the 12 months to the end of May, when the harvest stood at close to 8.4 million tonnes.

Morocco’s cereal import season starts in June and ends in May of the following year.

Last year’s harvest comprised 4.17 million tonnes of soft wheat, and 1.85 million tonnes of durum wheat. This year, the harvest fell to 4.8 million tonnes and included 2.6 million tonnes of soft wheat, one million tonnes of durum wheat and 1.2 million tonnes of barley.