Morocco puts a new prohibitive import tariff for soft wheat import

The Moroccan government announced on Thursday 27th April in Rabat a new prohibitive import tariff. The decision includes «raising Morocco’s soft wheat import custom tax to 135% from 30% until December 31st», said Mustapha El Khalfi, Minister Delegate to the head of government in charge of relations with the parliament.

This step holds the objective of guaranteeing a beneficial marketing for the national products that are highly demanded in Europe. «This project is related to a significant drop in the prices of soft wheat in the world, since 2016» the Minister declared.

Euronext, which is a European stock exchange that provides listing market data, raised concerns about the expiry of May futures and the prices of wheat in the European market. Reuters reports that, Morocco’s new import tariff law will leave the continent in shortage since it is a major customer of the EU. The same source indicates that the weather has helped Morocco to achieve a strong harvest this year and hence raise its soft wheat custom tax.