A series of incentives have been taken to ensure a good marketing campaign for cereals under the 2020-2021 crop year, announced the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forest on Monday. In order to ensure a good marketing campaign for cereals and allow farmers to market their crops in the best conditions and at profitable prices, a series of measures have been taken by a joint decision of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests and the Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, the ministry of Agriculture said in a press release. The cereal crop year 2020-2021 has recorded a very good level of production, estimated at 98 million quintals, including 48.2 million quintals of soft wheat, 23.4 million quintals of durum wheat and 26 million quintals of barley. In addition to favorable weather conditions, these results were recorded thanks to the combined efforts of farmers and the positive impact of the agricultural strategy deployed during the last decade under Morocco's Green Plan in terms of varietal selection, availability of selected seeds, farm mechanization, technical itinerary, agricultural insurance and agricultural advice, the same source stressed. Regarding the incentives for the marketing of national production, the press release specifies that a reference price was set at 280 Dh/quintal, milled for a standard quality, a flat subsidy of 5 Dh/quintal for the benefit of the marketed quantities of soft wheat of national production spread until October 31, 2021, and a premium storage of 2 Dh/quintal per fortnight for the overall quantity of soft wheat collected. Granted to storage organizations, this premium will be served until the end of December 2021. As for measures relating to customs duties, for soft wheat, import duties will be raised to 135% starting from May 15, 2021, whereas durum wheat import duties will be raised to 170% starting from June 1st, 2021. The import refund premium period will end on May 15, 2021. This premium was introduced to ensure market supply following the surge in global commodity prices. The ministry also stresses that the tenders of soft wheat for the supply of industrial mills for the manufacture of subsidized flours will be reserved in priority to the national harvest.
