Morocco imported 36% less cereals in 2H 2003

Morocco has imported 36% less cereals during the second Half of 2003 than during the same period last year, the Moroccan inter-professional office of cereals and leguminous plants (ONICL) said.

The United States is Morocco's largest cereal supplier with 24% of imports, followed by France (22%) Canada (19%), Argentina (18%) and Brazil (9%), ONICL says in its newsletter.

Moroccan imports consist mainly of corn (616,000 tons), soft wheat (519,000T), wheat (370,000T) and barley (89,700T).

Cereal stocks were of 1.04 million ton by December 31, 2003, including 708,000T of soft wheat, which will cover industrial mills' needs for three months.