Morocco: a Crédit Agricole / Producer partnership to support the wheat sector

The Crédit Agricole Maroc banking group on Tuesday (June 5th) signed an agreement with farmers’ cooperatives and their Union (UNCAM), and the National Federation of Millers at a ceremony chaired by Minister Aziz Akhannouch of Agriculture .
This agreement commits the bank to make available to agricultural cooperatives subsidized loans for the purchase and storage of wheat harvested this season.
Morocco will have to record 9.82 million tonnes of 2018 wheat, equivalent to the rate of the previous year. In 2017, Morocco’s total soft wheat imports were 4.2 million tonnes, compared with 2.1 million tonnes of maize, 850 000 tonnes of durum wheat and 440 000 tonnes of barley.
It should be recalled that in 2015, the Moroccan authorities increased customs duties on soft wheat imports to 75 pc, against 17.5 pc to protect the local harvest. Wheat is one of the most important products in the daily life of Moroccans.
Agriculture represents more than 15% of the Moroccan economy and employs nearly 40% of the active population.