In 2023, Russian supplies of agricultural products to Algeria increased by 20%. This allowed this country to take fourth place in terms of wheat purchases.
At the moment, in terms of purchase volumes of this type of product, Algeria is second only to Turkey, Egypt and Bangladesh.
In general, over the past 5 years, Russian agricultural exports to Algeria have grown as much as 5 times. In physical terms, these exports increased by 80% compared to 2022, to 2.7 million tons.
What does Algeria buy from Russia?
One of the main products is wheat. Its exports began for the first time in 2021.
Last year, about 2.5 million tons of wheat were shipped. This is an increase of 90% when compared to 2022.
Revenue increased by 50%.
Soybean oil is in second place in terms of volumes of supplies of Russian agricultural products to Algeria. True, its exports fell slightly last year and amounted to 180 thousand tons.
But supplies of sunflower oil are growing: volumes have increased 2.8 times, to 11 thousand tons.
After a long break, Algeria has also recently started buying barley from Russia, and there is also great potential for growth in this area.
One of the main tasks that has to be solved in order to establish supplies is agreeing on the conditions of phytosanitary control and bilateral interaction.
In general, experts believe that Algeria, as an importer of Russian agricultural products, has great potential.
“If Algeria annually imports 8-8.5 million tons of wheat, then Russia supplied 2.1 million tons (or 26% of all imports) in the 2022/23 season, and already 1.6 million tons this season.
And there is certainly potential for increasing supplies,” notes Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Grain Exporters.
Analysts believe that in the future Algeria could buy Russian agricultural products for very significant amounts, up to $1.5 billion.
However, to achieve such a result, Russia must actively develop this market.
One of the directions of movement is the beginning of supplies of new types of products. For example, supplies of powdered milk have recently begun, and the export of meat and dairy products, as well as fish, is currently being discussed.
In addition, Algeria currently mainly buys raw materials from the Russian Federation, rather than processed products.
Entering the Algerian market for prepared goods, such as confectionery, is not an easy task due to the large number of import restrictions.
However, experts believe that it is necessary to move in this direction in order to introduce the Algerian population to Russian brands and create sustainable demand.
