The commercial battle between Moscow et Paris takes a new turn Morocco where the Russian giant upsets the traditional balances of the wheat market. The world’s leading producer with its 85 million tonnes annually, Russia takes advantage of its agricultural assets to impose its presence on a territory long considered to be France’s backyard.
The new rules of the cereal game
The numbers speak for themselves: 700,000 tonnes of Russian wheat flooded onto the Moroccan market between last July and November, while France was content with 300,000 tonnes. This Russian breakthrough redefines the balance of power in the region, especially as Moscow aims to reach one million tonnes for the 2024/2025 campaign. The Russian offensive benefits from a double advantage: unbeatable prices and protein quality that meets local requirements.
A French vulnerability exposed
Russian strategy Morocco echoes its recent successes in Algeria, where Paris has lost its status as preferred supplier. French cereal producers, already weakened by a historically low production of 26.3 million tonnes, are seeing their positions eroded throughout the Maghreb. Intercéales France’s projections reveal the extent of the decline: exports to Morocco are expected to fall by 53.5%, from 2.8 million to 1.5 million tonnes.
-The Moroccan imperative in the face of drought
The Shereef kingdom, faced with a devastating drought, found itself forced to diversify its supplies. With local production collapsing to 3.3 million tonnes, barely a third of its needs, the country must import massively to feed a population whose consumption reaches 288 kg of wheat per capita per year. This increased dependence on imports, estimated at 7.5 million tonnes for 2024/2025, offers Russia a historic opportunity to establish itself as an essential partner, to the detriment of traditional European suppliers such as France, Romania or Poland.
Swiss
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