Morocco Back In Wheat Market

Black Sea grain exporters will be salivating at the news that Morocco will need to import around 1.5 MMT of wheat in the first half of 2010, according to the nation's grain agency. The government will cut a 135% import duty on wheat in January to facilitate imports, the agency said.

The tariff was imposed back in June in an attempt to support local farmers in the wake of a record domestic cereal harvest of over 10 MMT. Wheat accounted for 6.37 MMT of that, according to the USDA, a 70% increase on last season's 3.73 MMT. Domestic wheat consumption for 2009/10 is forecast at 7.65 MMT by the USDA.