If last year, trade between Algeria and France was around 3.6 billion euros, we note for this first half of 2021, a decrease of 2%.
France exported 1.9 billion euros of goods to Algeria, down 17.5%, in the context of the economic slowdown caused by the health crisis and the establishment of tariff and non-tariff barriers. French imports from Algeria reached more than 1.7 billion euros, up 22.5%, thanks to the increase in hydrocarbon exports.
Note that in the first half of the current year, Algerian exports to France consisted mainly of hydrocarbons. Regarding Algerian imports, the data show the decline in imports of agricultural products by 57% (annual rate) to 412 million euros as well as pharmaceutical products by 24% to 171 million euros.
However, French exports to Algeria of transport equipment grew by 61% to reach 366 million euros, with a sharp increase in sales of motor vehicles in the first half of 2021, totaling 301 million euros, i.e. an increase of 24% compared to the same period in 2020.
In terms of investment, “the data published by the Banque de France show French direct investment flows to Algeria of 64 million in 2016, 182 million euros in 2017 and 283 million euros in 2018, thus placing France in the third position (behind Italy and Germany) ”, we can read on the website of the French Embassy in Algeria.
In 2019, French direct investments were down by 127 million euros, before returning to a positive level at 93 million euros in 2020. The stock of French FDI in Algeria (the sum of flows, readjusted according to the rate exchange rates) amounted to 2.9 billion euros, also placing France in third place, behind the United States and Italy.
Note that these investments are mainly concentrated in three sectors: “financial and insurance activities (36% of the total), the manufacturing industry (29%) – which can be broken down into the automotive, pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries – and industries. extractive (23%)”, according to the Banque de France.
