Algeria has reportedly excluded French wheat from a major tender it has just launched for the acquisition of 500,000 tonnes of cereals, Reuters reported on Wednesday, October 9, citing ” commercial sources “. The same sources linked Algeria’s decision to the ongoing diplomatic crisis with France.
Algeria withdrew its ambassador to Paris at the end of July following the French government’s decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and to consider the 2007 Moroccan autonomy plan as ” the only basis for reaching a solution ” to the conflict.
Is the political crisis spilling over into the economic arena?
The post of Algerian ambassador to France is now vacant following the publication of a presidential decree terminating the functions of Saïd Moussi, who occupied it before the crisis.
The crisis seems to have spilled over into the economic and commercial sphere with Algeria’s decision to completely exclude French wheat, already losing ground on the Algerian market, from its supplies.
Reuters reports that Algeria launched its latest regular tender on Tuesday for the purchase of 500,000 tonnes of wheat. Algeria’s purchases are managed by the Algerian Interprofessional Cereals Office (OAIC) and, until then, French wheat was on the list of approved and optional origins that foreign suppliers could choose.
Amid a crisis between the two countries, Algeria is once again turning away from French wheat
This time, Algerian buyers specified to potential non-French suppliers that they should not offer French wheat as a supply option, and French companies were not invited to participate in the call for tenders, ” six sources familiar with the matter ” told the same media.
This decision by Algeria is a major blow to the French cereal industry, which is already struggling with a bad season. Its repercussions could be significant, as it comes from a country that is considered one of the largest wheat importers in the world, and of which France has also been one of the main suppliers for many years.
In 2023, Algeria imported 6.5 million tonnes of wheat, according to data from the French agricultural and seafood establishment FranceAgriMer, published last January.
The country is on the verge of achieving self-sufficiency, but only in durum wheat, corn, and barley. Soft wheat cultivation is not very well suited to Algerian soil and climate.
During the election campaign for the presidential election of September 7, presidential candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledged that Algeria would no longer import ” a single kilogram of durum wheat ” from 2026.
Stop Algerian imports of French wheat?
Black Sea wheat, especially Russian wheat, should be the main beneficiaries of Algeria’s decision to turn away from French wheat again.
Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, but it has only counted Algeria among its customers for a few years. After a sharp decline in the early 2020s, French wheat has returned strongly to the Algerian market following the warming of relations between the two countries.
French Customs figures on foreign trade between Algeria and France, reported last September by the Economic Letter of Business France (which is the economic service of the French Embassy in Algeria), reported a ” spectacular ” recovery in exports to Algeria of French agricultural products, dominated by cereals. The increase was +90.5% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
