RATIN

Morocco suspends common wheat duties

Posted on November, 5, 2018 at 10:43 am


By Eric Schroeder

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The government of Morocco on Oct. 20 said it will suspend customs duties on common wheat, a move that will result in the country not retendering approximately 67,000 tonnes of remaining volume of U.S. common wheat under the free trade agreement, according to an Oct. 28 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The suspension was put into effect on Nov. 1 and will last until Dec. 31.

“Morocco canceled 135% duties to ensure regular supply, avert price hikes in the domestic market, and industry better plan reserves for wheat blending,” the USDA said.

In recently released figures, the government of Morocco said common wheat production for the 2018 crop totaled 4.91 million tonnes, 2.43 million tonnes of durum wheat and 2.91 million tonnes of barley.

Source: WORLD-GRAIN.COM