Русский
In 2024, Russia exported agricultural products worth nearly $280 million to Morocco, a threefold increase compared to the previous year, according to estimates from the Agroexport Center. Growth was driven by supplies of wheat, which increased 3 to 4 times in value. “Thanks to more competitive prices and quality, Russia became the leader among wheat suppliers to Morocco, surpassing France, which had been the largest seller to this country for many years,” the center said.
Russian exporters shipped more than 1 million tonnes of wheat to Morocco in 2024, according to expert estimates.Russia exported sunflower and rapeseed meal to Morocco in 2024 for the first time since 2015. As a result, the country entered the top 10 importers of sunflower meal and the top five for rapeseed meal.
About 60% of the supplied volume was sunflower meal and cake, while 40% was rapeseed meal.Morocco is also a buyer of Russian beet pulp. In 2024, shipments of this product were comparable to the previous year’s levels.Morocco resumed purchases of Russian sunflower oil after almost a five-year absence. Russia also exports barley, corn, legumes, bran, beverages, honey, confectionery, and a number of other agricultural products to the country.
The potential for Russian agricultural product exports to Morocco is estimated at $350 million, according to Agroexport. The main categories are cereals, vegetable oils, byproducts from starch and sugar beet production, confectionery, beef, and others.
The head of the agricultural market analysis department at Rusagrotrans, Igor Pavensky, was quoted as saying. “Due to changes to the climate in recent years, Morocco has experienced more frequent droughts, leading to a sharp decline in yields, and as a result, an increase in imports. It is expected that wheat imports will reach a record 7.5 million tonnes this season, compared to 4-6.5 million tonnes in previous seasons.”.
From July to January of the 2024-2025 agricultural season, Russian exports to Morocco reached a record 0.93 million tonnes, surpassing the amounts for previous full seasons. In particular, Russian exports in the first half of the current season (July-December 2024) increased 1.9-fold compared to the entire previous season (0.49 million tonnes).The majority of imports are milling wheat, which is subsidized by the government, Pavensky said. In addition, 1-1.5 million tonnes of hard wheat are included in total imports, and Russia can also successfully develop these supplies.
At the same time, there are good prospects for increasing barley shipments. “Domestic barley production in Morocco is also falling. In the past season, 1.4 million tonnes were imported, with Russian barley accounting for only 170,000 tonnes, and no shipments took place this year,” he said.
“After a long hiatus, Russia resumed supplies of domestic oil and fat products to Morocco. While sunflower oil exports are still modest, rapeseed and sunflower meal have already captured over 5% of the total meal imports to this country,” Oil and Fats Union Executive Director Mikhail Maltsev was quoted as saying. “North African markets in general and Morocco in particular are highly dependent on imports of vegetable oils and meal, which presents good prospects for increased Russian exports.”.
