Russian grain is actively replacing French grain on the Algerian market

France has once again lost its former colony, Algeria, but this time not in terms of territory, but in terms of the grain market. While Algeria used to buy mostly French wheat, it has now shifted to supplies from Russia.

In the first half of the 2023/24 season, Russia became the main supplier of wheat to Algeria, pushing the EU countries to second place.

Experts believe that the reason for this is the changes made by the French authorities to the grain specifications, which increased the permitted content of grain impurities from 0.5% to 1%, which was not liked by buyers.

In addition, France’s National Agency for Sanitary Safety banned the popular insecticide phosphine, although governments in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt) require mandatory pest control treatments for grain.

A year ago, the Express wrote that “France annually exports 11.5 million tons of grain worth 3.8 billion euros, and has become the fourth largest grain supplier in the world after the reduction of supplies from Ukraine and Russia as a result of military operations.”

However, having gained a short-term advantage in the markets, the country could not withstand the competition. As a result, the authorities lifted the ban on phosphine, but time was lost. Importers viewed attempts to change the rules on the fly as a tool of pressure, especially given the difficult relations between the governments of France and Algeria.

Algerian experts confirm that “economic advantages are emphasized by political factors, and France can use grain as an element of pressure, while there is no such risk in relations with Russia.”

While in October 2021 France exported 650 thsd tonnes of wheat to Algeria, in October 2022 it was already 1.05 mln tonnes, but in October 2023 the exports decreased to 157 thsd tonnes.

At the same time, Algeria increased the imports of Russian wheat from 28 thsd tonnes in 2021/22 MY to 2.1 mln tonnes in 2022/23 MY, breaking into the TOP-5 major buyers of Russian grain. In 2023/24 MY, Algeria has already purchased 1.6 mln tonnes of wheat from Russia, and by the end of the season it may import another 3 mln tonnes, as the potential of the Algerian market is 8 mln tonnes.

Among the suppliers of barley, which Algeria buys 700-800 thousand tons per year, Russia also became the leader, having supplied 237 thousand tons this season.

Malian portal Maliactu reports that “the decision to diversify sources of supply was made to ensure food security. Wheat from Russia is not only cheaper than French wheat, but also of better quality. The loss of the Algerian market will have a negative impact on agriculture and the French economy. Changes in trade relations between the countries indicate the beginning of significant geopolitical and economic changes in the region.”

Algeria currently buys durum wheat mainly from Canada, as Russia has a ban on exports of such grain. However, after the ban is lifted, Algeria may intensify imports of durum wheat from Russia, whose prices are much lower than Canadian or American.

Therefore, experts believe that in the future, Russia may increase the supply of its agricultural products to Algeria to $1.5 billion.

Tags: Algeria, France, wheat, Russia, grain, barley