Soft wheat flour : The plan for next season

The Government has just established the terms and conditions for applying the public subsidy to soft wheat and flour intended for local consumption. The joint circular issued by the Ministers of the Interior, Agriculture, and Budget was published in the latest edition of the Official Gazette. This text defines the conditions for the acquisition of soft wheat intended for the manufacture of subsidized flour, for the 2024-2025 marketing season. The text specifies that soft wheat intended for the manufacture of subsidized flour must be acquired, via calls for tender issued by the ONICL (“National Interprofessional Office for Cereals and Pulses”), from grain merchants, agricultural cooperatives or their unions. The quantities of wheat purchased must correspond to the characteristics defined in the appendix to this circular.

This text also sets the price of soft wheat intended for the manufacture of subsidized flour at 258.80 Dirhams (USD 25.88) per quintal, at flour mill level. These amounts are paid to the mills by ONICL, either by deducting the amount or by refunding the difference with the price set at the time of the tender. The price difference may concern the costs of storage, transport, and delivery to the mills.
With regard to the conditions governing the manufacture of subsidized flour, the text sets out the two categories concerned, namely national flour and special flour. Manufacturing conditions are determined in particular by the extraction rate: 81% for national flour and 74% for special flour. The elements taken into account in calculating the cost of subsidized flour include the basic costs (2 MADs / USD 0.2 per quintal), and the margin (31.25 MADs / USD 3.12 per quintal for national flour and 31.61 MADs / USD 3.16 for special flour).

This text also covers the packaging of subsidized flour. Subsidized flour must be delivered in net-50-kilogram bags. The cost of packaging is borne by the mills, with the exception of quantities bound for the southern provinces. In addition to the retail price, 10-centimeter green stripes must appear on both sides of the bag. This does not apply to bags bound for the southern provinces. Bags bound for other regions must also be sealed by the mills and bear a serial number, which must also appear on the delivery receipts.

M.A.M.