In 2021, Russia doubled agricultural exports to Algeria

In 2021, Russian exports of agricultural products to Algeria increased by 2.3 times to $337 million. The physical volume of deliveries reached 535 thousand tons, which is 2.4 times more than in 2020. Thanks to such dynamics, last year the Republic entered the top 20 buyers of Russian food products.

The basis of Russian agricultural exports to Algeria is fat and oil and grain products. Thus, in January-December, the North African country imported 153 thousand tons of soybean oil from RUSSIA (+6.3% compared to 2020) in the amount of $183 million (+78%), coming out on top among buyers of this product. Russia , in turn, has been the largest seller of soybean oil for Algeria since 2020, Ilya Ilyushin, commercial DIRECTOR of Yug Rusi, told Agroexport. “In recent years, Russia has increased the processing of soybeans, expanding the supply of soybean oil to foreign markets. One of them is Algeria, where soybean oil is the basic and most consumed product among edible oils, while Russia can successfully compete in the markets of North African countries due to close logistics,” he comments.

In 2021, for the first time in the last 5 years, Russia began shipping wheat to Algeria. For 12 months, the volume of deliveries amounted to 330 thousand tons worth $106 million. The resumption occurred after the reduction of requirements for grain, reminds the chairman of the board of the Union of Grain Exporters Eduard Zernin. “Traditionally, Algeria imports soft wheat from the EU, namely from France and Germany, which cover about 70% of the import requirement. However, due to climate change taking place in the world, there is a need to diversify suppliers,” Zernin said. – For Russia’s access to the Algerian market, the requirements for damage to grain by a turtle bug were reduced to 0.5%, which made it possible to ship as early as June 2021. Later, due to the desire of Algeria to reduce dependence on French wheat, this requirement was reduced to 1%,

Algeria is a buyer of Russian sunflower oil, however, in 2021, purchases of the product decreased by 2.4 times to 16 thousand tons in physical terms and by 27% to $21 million in monetary terms. At the same time, shipments of rapeseed oil increased to 4.5 thousand tons (18 times more) for the amount of $5.4 million (23 times more), which, according to Ilyushin, is associated with an increase in rapeseed processing in Russia and more competitive prices rapeseed oil from Russia compared to other countries, primarily CANADA.

In addition, last year Russia exported to Algeria yeast worth $10 million (+98%), leguminous crops worth $6.6 million - lentils and chickpeas (9.4 times more), barley - 3.8 million dollars (-38%) and a number of other categories of agricultural products.

The Algerian People's Democratic Republic is a state with a population of more than 44 million people. For many years, agriculture has been a priority sector of the country's economy, providing more than 12% of GDP. In crop production, the main crops are vegetables and fruits (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, oranges, apples), in animal husbandry, sheep, poultry and dairy farming are in the lead. The government encourages agricultural production and the creation of modern agricultural farms, but today Algeria continues to depend on the import of many foodstuffs.

According to the ITC Trade Map, in 2020, Algeria's agro-industrial imports grew by 2.1% to $8.1 billion. Algeria imports a wide range of agro-industrial products: wheat ($1.6 billion), powdered and condensed MILK and cream ( $1.1 billion), corn ($0.8 billion), SUGAR ($0.7 billion), soybean oil ($0.4 billion), etc.

Among the top food exporting countries to Algeria, France (18%), Brazil (14%), Argentina (12%), Germany (5%) and Spain (4%) had the largest share in 2020. Russia was in 17th place with a share of 1.8%.

According to the Agroexport Federal Center, the potential for food supplies from Russia to Algeria by 2030 exceeds $600 million. Among the most promising products are soybean and sunflower oil, cereals (wheat, corn, barley), yeast, legumes . So, recalls Zernin, Algeria is among the top 5 importers of wheat in the world. “Despite the policy of de-dependence, Algeria imported 6.4 million tons of wheat in 2021, of which 5.2 million tons were soft wheat imports. Russia already has strong trade ties in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, so Algeria does not yet occupy a leading position in the structure of Russian exports. Nevertheless, the state is located in the priority region of Russian exports, so there is confidence that the established trade relations will only strengthen,”

Recall that in October 2020, the Agroexport Federal Center, together with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, conducted a business mission of Russian companies exporting agricultural products to the Republic of Algeria. More than 70 organizations interested in expanding bilateral cooperation took part in the event - agricultural departments, regulatory and supervisory authorities, industry unions and associations, leading companies exporting and importing food products. 

Results of 2021: Russian agricultural exports grew by 21%

In addition, on March 24, 2022, the industry community was presented with the Concept for the development of exports of Russian agricultural products through direct deliveries to retail chains and distribution companies in the GCC countries and North Africa, one of the target markets of which is Algeria. The document was developed by Agroexport and PvK Consulting with the participation of leading experts in the Russian agricultural industry.