War in Ukraine tests Algeria’s wheat reserves amid inflation, drought
Wheat supplies should be sufficient for the rest of 2022. But the country will eventually be compelled to secure additional quantities at higher prices
As the Russian military intervention in Ukraine continues to disrupt access to food commodities, Algeria is expected to have sufficient wheat reserves to last for the rest of 2022. But a drawn-out crisis will eventually put pressure on the country’s wheat supply and access.
At the start of the war, authorities moved quickly to reassure the population. In early March, Algeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Mohamed Abdelhafid Henni, stated, “Algeria has taken all measures to ensure that the national market is covered and fully satisfying all citizens’ grain needs” adding that the country’s stocks were “sufficient until the end of the current year and will not be affected by the changes occurring in the world.”
Algeria consumes just over 11 million tons of wheat per year. The majority, between 7.5 million and 8 million tons, is imported. Although it has relied mostly on European suppliers such as France and Germany, the country also procures wheat from Canada, and started importing again from Russia in 2021 after a five-year hiatus.
Mourad Ouchichi, an economist and lecturer at the University of Bejaïa, told Al-Monitor that “for the time being, the state will have no problem to secure supplies, since wheat delivery contracts were signed some time ago.” Furthermore, Algeria will harvest its domestic wheat production in June/July, adding some more volume to existing stocks.
