Effective from January 1, 2016 Morocco lowered the customs duty on soft wheat imports from 50 percent to 30 percent. This latest decrease follows a previous reduction of the import duties on soft wheat from 75 to 50 percent in May 2015. The measure aims to promote imports to ensure adequate supplies for the domestic market and take advantage of current relatively low international prices. Morocco harvested a record 12 million tonnes grain crop in 2015 after favourable weather conditions prevailed, including some 5.5 million tonnes of soft wheat and about 2.5 million tonnes of hard wheat. However, early prospects for the 2016 crop to be harvested from May 2016 point to a reduction due to a period of unfavourably dry conditions during crop establishment.