Algeria reaps bumper harvest

Cereal crop yields remain at a high level but the country has yet to overcome its dependency on agricultural imports.

By Mohand Ouali for Magharebia in Algiers – 01/08/11

For the third year in a row, Algeria is expected to benefit from an unusually high cereal crop.

This year's domestic harvest is estimated at 4.5 million tonnes, Algerian National Cereal Office (OAIC) Director General Noureddine Kehal announced on July 18th.

The crop will be Algeria's third-largest since independence, behind the all-time record of 6.2 million tonnes in 2009 and last year's 4.55 million tonnes.

Agriculture Minister Rachid Benaissa described the expected yields as "excellent" in eastern Algeria, "average" in central regions and "poor" in the west due to the drought.

More than 2.7 million tonnes have already been gathered, according to Kehal. The harvest will continue until late August. Cereal-growers send their produce to cooperatives. In contrast with previous years, Kehal claimed, producers are being paid in "record time" – 48 hours after delivery of their produce.

To encourage producers to improve their yields, the government adopted in 2008 a system of guaranteed minimum purchase prices.

Algeria also embarked on a policy of assistance to invigorate the sector. The measures include loans to enable cereal-growers to buy seeds, fertilizers and plant disease control products, interest-free harvest loans, subsidization of the prices of fertilizers and plant disease control products, lease financing for the purchase of tractors and combine harvesters, as well as technical support.

Despite the growth of production, Algeria remains one of the world's biggest importers of wheat. Two years ago, the country imported almost 6 million tonnes but reduced its imports by half a million last year.

Since the beginning of this year, wheat imports have begun to rise again. Algeria imported about 4 million tonnes of wheat over the first half of 2011, up by a million over the same period last year, according to the CNIS. The biggest suppliers are France, Canada, Germany and the United States.

"Algeria has got a good deal recently by importing a good amount of durum wheat," Benaissa said at a July 9th press conference. "The national consumption for the rest of 2011 is virtually guaranteed."

According to the customs office, the cost of wheat imports last year dropped by about one-third compared to 2009.

Algeria relies heavily on food imports. During the first six months of 2011, the government spent almost US $5 billion on imported food, compared with $3 billion over the same period in 2010, according to the National Center for Data Processing and Statistics (CNIS).

The government sought to take advantage of falling wheat process and the decline of the euro to boost its savings and prevent any market disturbances before Ramadan, when consumption traditionally soars.

"I call on all professionals to ensure that the supply on the market is as rational as possible during Ramadan in order to avoid any speculation in relation to products based on durum wheat and common wheat," Benaissa said on July 11th.

The minister gave orders for the quotas of durum and common wheat allocated to manufacturers within the cereal sector (semolina mills and flour mills) to be raised by 10% from July 15th onwards.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/01/feature-02.