Morocco’s Strategic Position in Global Wheat and Barley Markets
Morocco has emerged as a key player in global grain markets, particularly in soft wheat and barley imports. For the 2024/2025 season, the country imported 1.995 million tonnes of soft wheat from the European Union, positioning itself as the second-largest EU importer, behind Nigeria (2.25 million tonnes) and ahead of Algeria (1.35 million tonnes), according to the latest European Commission data.
This figure marks a decline from the 3.58 million tonnes imported by Morocco in the previous season, a shift largely influenced by better-than-expected domestic harvests and improved storage infrastructure. However, the country’s reliance on EU wheat remains significant due to climate volatility and occasional droughts that affect local production.
Barley Imports: A Secondary but Vital Flow
In barley trade, Morocco also ranked second among EU barley importers, with 582,323 tonnes purchased by the end of March 2025. While this marks a drop from 921,104 tonnes the year before, the volume still reflects solid demand, primarily for livestock feed.
Saudi Arabia leads the global barley import chart, posting a dramatic surge to 953,886 tonnes (from just 155,884 tonnes a year ago), due to high domestic feed demand and a pivot in sourcing strategies.
EU Export and Import Trends
From the start of the 2024/2025 season through the end of March:
- The EU exported:
- 15.68 million tonnes of soft wheat
- 3.76 million tonnes of barley
- It imported:
- 6.31 million tonnes of soft wheat
- 931,214 tonnes of barley
Ukraine stood out as the largest wheat supplier to the EU, with over 4.09 million tonnes shipped, followed by Canada (896,825 tonnes) and Moldova (475,821 tonnes). In barley, Ukraine again led with 396,624 tonnes, ahead of the UK and Moldova.
Hard Wheat Semolina: Morocco Back Among Key Exporters
Another noteworthy development is Morocco’s return as a significant exporter of durum wheat semolina to the EU, shipping 914 tonnes between July 2024 and March 2025, an increase from 709 tonnes the previous season. The total EU imports in this category reached 3,047 tonnes, with Turkey (391 tonnes) and Egypt (338 tonnes) ranking next after Morocco.
Morocco’s position as the second-largest importer of EU soft wheat and barley reflects broader trends in climate resilience, market diversification, and agricultural trade interdependence. For farmers, agronomists, and stakeholders in global grain supply chains, Morocco’s evolving role highlights the need to closely monitor North African demand and weather patterns, as they increasingly shape international cereal markets.
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