Morocco expects 90 million quintals cereal harvest, including 44 mln soft wheat

Morocco’s cereal harvest is projected to reach 90 million quintals in the 2026 season, including 44 million quintals of soft wheat, Agriculture Minister Ahmed El Bouari said.

Speaking before the upper house of parliament, El Bouari said the crop would also include 21 million quintals of durum wheat and 25 million quintals of barley.

Collection rates have picked up significantly in recent weeks, with daily volumes exceeding 100,000 quintals during the second week of June, he said.

Few days ago, importers and millers had spoken about difficulties facing the collection of the crop due to prolonged rainy season, labour shortage and not enough equipment.

The bulk of the harvest is concentrated in three key agricultural regions: Casablanca-Settat, Fès-Meknès and Marrakech-Safi, the minister said.

The minister credited increased mechanization with helping to “accelerate the pace of harvesting and improve yields,” while also highlighting efforts to expand storage capacity.

New local storage units with a combined capacity of about two million quintals have been introduced as part of a broader push to strengthen the country’s strategic reserves.

El Bouari noted that government support for storage infrastructure has been increased, with subsidies raised from 10% to 25%, alongside the development of an integrated national system for strategic grain reserves.

He also encouraged operators to stockpile 800,000 quintals of local wheat to strengthen food security.