Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Farid L.
Published on 2024-03-14 00:56:01
Between Algeria and France, if political relations have been rather “sultry” for a few months, and the issue of memory is still stalling, economic affairs, on the other hand, are showing no signs of slowing down. Proof of this is that trade between the two countries intensified last year.
The latest report from the French General Directorate of the Treasury, entitled “Economic Letter of Algeria,” revealed that commercial trade between Algiers and Paris increased by 5.3% in 2023 to reach a total amount of 11.8 billion euros (compared to 11.2 billion euros in 2022).
Unsurprisingly, the increase in French imports of Algerian hydrocarbons (especially gas) largely explains this increase. These imports increased by 15.3% and amount to 6 billion euros.
In detail, the document from the General Directorate of the Treasury indicates that natural gas (LNG and gaseous) accounts for 51.8% of these imports, with a growth of 30.1%. Crude oil, representing the remaining 48.2%, saw an increase of 5.6%.
Overall, French imports of Algerian goods increased by 8% to reach a total of 7.3 billion euros (including 1.3 billion euros of non-hydrocarbon goods).
French exports of cereals to Algeria in free fall
Regarding French exports to Algeria, the results are mixed. Despite a relatively stable overall result (a slight decrease of 0.5% for a total of 4.49 billion euros), the details show a more contrasting picture.
French exports of cereals to Algeria experienced a vertiginous drop of 80% in 2023. They went from 834 million euros to only 166 million euros. The fact that Algeria has turned to Russian wheat since 2021 largely explains this decline.
Overall, French agricultural product exports to Algeria decreased by 73.1% in 2023 to stand at 276 million euros (compared to over one billion euros in 2022).
However, the picture is not entirely bleak. The boom in the volume of exports of industrial products – now the leading export category – offsets the sharp decline in agricultural products.
In terms of numbers, in 2023 France sold to Algeria the equivalent of: 1.9 billion euros of industrial products (+20.5%); 1 billion euros of mechanical equipment (+16.9%); 863 million euros of transport equipment (+21.8%); 408 million euros of agri-food products (+33.6%).
Read the original article(French) on Algerie 360
