Morocco turns to Kazakhstan for wheat amid worst harvest in 15 years
The first convoy, made up of 105 wagons carrying 3rd and 4th category wheat, departed Kazakhstan on April 30.
MOROCCO – Facing its lowest wheat harvest in over 15 years and a 40% drop in overall grain production, Morocco is ramping up wheat imports, including a newly launched 60,000-ton shipment from Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTJ), the national railway company, has announced.
The first convoy, made up of 105 wagons carrying 3rd and 4th category wheat, departed Kazakhstan on April 30 and is currently en route via Latvia and the Baltic Sea, marking a significant diversification in Morocco’s grain supply chain.
In 2024, Morocco’s total grain production dropped to 3.3 million tons, with wheat output falling to just 2.5 million tons, the lowest level since the late 2000s, due to a prolonged drought and a 70% rainfall deficit during the crucial February–March period.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture reported a 62% increase in grain production compared to 2023, reaching 5.5 million tons, domestic supply still falls short of national consumption needs. As a result, Morocco is expected to boost grain imports by 30%, according to a recent FAO report.
In this context, Kazakhstan has emerged as a strategic partner. The Central Asian nation, which harvested a record 26.7 million tons of grain in 2024, its largest in 13 years, is stepping up wheat exports to North Africa.
According to KTJ, 17 trains loaded with wheat were assembled from northern Kazakhstan’s Aqmola and Kostanai regions and routed to the port of Liepāja in Latvia, from where the wheat will continue by sea to Morocco. The entire 60,000-ton operation bypasses traditional Black Sea routes, highlighting growing logistical cooperation between the two countries.
Morocco imported 83,500 tons of Kazakh wheat in the first quarter of 2025, according to agricultural analytics firm APK-Inform.
Officials from both countries are seeking to deepen this relationship: in February, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Kazakh counterpart Murat Nurtleu discussed the creation of a logistics hub in Morocco to streamline future Kazakh grain exports to Africa.
Kazakhstan’s Food Contract Corporation has already signed contracts for more than 200,000 tons of grain exports to the region and intends to ship over 300,000 tons of wheat to North Africa by the end of the current marketing season.
Overall, Kazakhstan aims to export up to 12 million tons of newly harvested grain this year, up from 8.1 million tons in 2024, as it expands its markets beyond traditional buyers like China, Turkiye, and Central Asian neighbors.
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