In Algeria, wheat consumption needs are around 11 million tonnes per year, and Algeria has recourse to imports to meet the need in this area.
After experiencing a decline, Algerian imports of French wheat are on the rise again. Indeed, during the first half of the 2022/2023 commercial campaign, Algeria was the second largest customer for French wheat.
According to the France AgriMer note of January 18, between July and December, Algerian imports of French wheat amounted to nearly 1.5 million tonnes, an increase of 30% from one year to the next.
Algeria comes behind Morocco, which imported more than 1.7 million tonnes of French wheat during the same period (+50%). “Purchases from Morocco, in particular, posted an unprecedented record over the last decade, due to a poor harvest and the absence of recourse to Russian wheat”, notes the same source, adding that Egypt is the third buyer of French wheat with 900,000 tonnes.
The increase in French wheat exports to Maghreb countries is explained by competitive prices and advantageous freight rates compared to other sources. The same source also noted that grain prices continued to fall on Euronext to return to their pre-Russian-Ukrainian conflict level.
What are Algeria’s wheat import forecasts?
In its updated forecast for Algeria published at the end of September, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts that the country will import 8.3 million tonnes of wheat from it in the 2022/2023 marketing year. In addition, the USDA forecasts a consumption of 11.15 million tons of wheat during the same campaign in Algeria.
The US Department also forecasts an improvement in Algeria’s cereal production during the 2022/2023 campaign, thanks to an improvement in weather conditions with good rainfall which should mark the agricultural season.
