World meat industry news

In 2022, the value of Russian exports of agricultural products to Algeria doubled compared to 2021. Thus, for the second year in a row, Russia doubles its revenue from food supplies to the African country: in 2021, compared to 2020, the figure increased by 2.3 times. The dynamics was largely determined by the intensification of supplies of Russian wheat, as a result of which Algeria entered the top 5 buyers of domestic cereals in 2022.

According to preliminary data from the Federal Customs Service, last year Algeria imported almost 1.3 million tons of Russian wheat, while in 2021 the figure was only 330 thousand tons. Both the physical and cost volume of cereal exports increased by 3.9 times.

“Russia started deliveries of wheat to Algeria in June 2021 after a 5-year break, and since then has rapidly increased the pace of shipments. If earlier Algeria was the home market for wheat from France, now Russia has become an important supplier to this market. Russian wheat wins the competition with European grain in terms of price and fully satisfies Algerian partners in terms of quality,” said Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Grain Exporters.

Also, 191 thousand tons of soybean oil were shipped to Algeria, which is 25% more than in 2021. At the same time, export earnings increased by 45%. Thanks to this increase, Algeria retains its leadership among importers of Russian soybean oil for the second year in a row: almost 30% of foreign sales come from this country. Also last year, 4,000 tons of sunflower oil and 3,000 tons of rapeseed oil were delivered to Algeria.

“Soybean oil is a staple in the Algerian diet and consumption is steadily growing. Thanks to convenient logistics, Russia has every opportunity to meet this demand and in recent years has been the largest supplier of soybean oil to the Algerian market,” comments Ilya Ilyushin, an independent expert in the oil and fat industry.

In addition, over the past year, supplies of dried chickpeas to Algeria increased 2.8 times (up to 9.4 thousand tons), 10 times - potato flakes and granules (up to 460 tons), 23 times - millet (from 56 tons up to 1.3 thousand tons),

The Algerian People's Democratic Republic is a state in North Africa with a population of about 45 million people. The structure of the country's economy is dominated by the oil and gas sector, which accounted for about 19% of GDP in 2016-2021. Four-fifths of the country's territory is occupied by the desert, agriculture develops mainly in the north and is one of the priority sectors of the country's economy. In crop production, the main crops are vegetables and fruits, in animal husbandry, sheep, poultry and dairy farming are in the lead. The government encourages the development of modern agricultural production, yet Algeria continues to depend on imports for many foodstuffs.

According to the ITC Trade Map, in 2021, the total volume of imports of agro-industrial complex of Algeria amounted to 9.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 17% compared to 2020. The value structure of imports was dominated by wheat ($2.3 billion), milk powder ($1.2 billion), corn ($823 million), soybean oil ($818 million), beet and cane sugar ($777 million). Doll.). Thanks to such volumes, Algeria is among the top 10 countries importing wheat, soybean oil, sugar, and is the second buyer in the world for milk powder.

According to the Federal Center "Agroexport", Russia has the possibility of a further significant increase in food production in Algeria. The main promising positions are vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower), cereals and legumes (wheat, corn, barley), yeast and other agricultural products. “This season, thanks to a record wheat harvest, Russia's export potential has grown significantly, and domestic exporters are ready to increase supplies. The countries of the MENA region are a strategic destination, including Algeria as one of the world's leading grain importers. In the 2021/22 season, the country purchased 8.3 million tons of wheat on the world market, in 2022/23, according to forecasts, the import volume will also exceed 8 million tons,” Zernin recalled.

Also in the current season, there may be a further increase in Algerian imports of fat and oil products. “Cultivation of oilseeds in Algeria is currently quite poorly developed, and therefore the demand is met mainly through imports. Another trend is the diversification of consumption and an increase in the use of various types of oils at home, including sunflower oil,” says Ilya Ilyushin. At the same time, he draws attention, the Algerian authorities are stimulating the development of soybean processing within the country, which will limit the import of soybean oil and meal in the future.