ALGIERS- The bill of cereals imported by the Algerian Inter-Professional Office of Cereal (OAIC) declined by over 26% in 2016 compared to 2015, OAIC Director General Mohammed Belabdi told APS on Wednesday.
Algeria’s main importer of cereals, OAIC imported for US$1.704 billion worth of wheat and barley in 2016, against US$2.310 billion in 2015, down by 26.23%, he said.
The import bill of hard wheat totalled US$443 million in 2016, against US$662 million a year earlier.
The soft wheat import bill dropped to US$1.123 billion in 2016 against US$1.49 billion in 2015, while barley import bill declined to US$138 million against US$149 million during the same period of reference.
According to Belabdi, the decrease is mainly due to the fact that the Office has built up significant strategic stock that allowed it to buy from the international market only when prices decline, like last summer.
He added that the drop in cereal import bill resulted from the OAIC’s investments in means of transport and logistics, especially with the purchase of Mercedes trucks manufactured in Tiaret, which allowed reducing by 70% the waiting time of ships at ports
Source: Over 26% drop in cereal import bill in 2016
