Algeria Shuns France and Turns to Russia for Wheat after Diplomatic Spat
Traditionally, Algeria had ‘an exceptional entente’ with France with regards to the supply of wheat. Algeria even represented the largest export market for French wheat. Indeed, Algeria imports some 11 millions tonnes of wheat annually with bread being a staple food in the Algerian diet.
Recently, France decided to side with Morocco over the sovereignty issue of Western Sahara, thus causing the irk of Algeria. Despite denying any link between the Western Sahara issue and the choice of the wheat supplier, Algeria has decided to dump French wheat in favor of Russian wheat. Official sources justify the choice as a result of a ‘better quality to price ratio.’
In the last international tender for wheat, the Algerian Interprofessional Office for Cereals (OAIC) allegedly excluded French suppliers. In order to admit Russian wheat, the #OAIC even went so far as to customize the standard of imported to allow Russian wheat by lowering the bar for chinched grains from 0.05% to 0.1%.
Russian wheat exports amounted to about 2.3 millions tonnes in 2023, and 25% was destined for the North African market. Having managed to crack the Algerian market, Russia plans to augment its market share by going over USD 1.5 million tonnes. For the financial year 2024-2025, Russia could supply as much as 3 million tonnes of Russian wheat, which is just above 1/3 of Algeria’s current needs.
Ukraine is also another major wheat exporter in the Black Sea Region. In July 2022, the UN managed to broker a deal called the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) to open a ‘maritime humanitarian corridor.’ The #BSGI created a safe passage for Ukraine ships carrying grains and 32 millions tonnes of Ukrainian wheat were unlocked in a bid to stabilize world cereal prices.
In July 2023, Russia withdrew from the #BSGI, citing Ukrainian attacks on the Kerch bridge linking Crimea to Russia. It is worth noting that other Black Sea littoral states such as Bulgaria and Romania are also wheat suppliers to Algeria.
Aware of the geopolitical risks, Algeria has further diversified its sources and also imports wheat from Australia and Argentina. At the same time, Algeria is stepping up efforts to boost its local production of cereals to ensure its #FoodSecurity.