Crisis With Paris Hits French Wheat Exports To Algeria

The political and diplomatic crisis between Algeria and Paris, fueled by the French far right, coincided with a sharp slump in French wheat exports to Algeria, after the European country was for many years the leading supplier of cereals to the country, according to an article in “Le Progrès” on Sunday.

According to an article published by “Le Progrès” on Sunday, Algeria, which imports a large part of its wheat needs, has stopped buying soft wheat from France completely, turning to other sources such as Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, after previously covering about 80 percent of Algeria’s purchases of this vital foodstuff.

The same source pointed out that the exported quantities have declined dramatically, down from 5 million tons in 2019 to only 1.5 million tons in 2024, with expectations that they will decline to zero this year, representing a huge loss for the French agricultural sector, which was heavily dependent on the Algerian market, according to it.

According to the same source, this shift was not by chance, but came as a direct result of the deterioration of political relations between the two countries, which reached its peak after French President Emmanuel Macron recognized Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara, noting that although Algeria had started since 2020 to diversify its import sources to ensure its food security, the decline in Paris’ exports towards this country was notable, especially in 2024.

The same website claimed that the Algerian government had imposed strict technical conditions on wheat imports, which made it difficult for France to comply with them, which practically led to its exit from the Algerian market.

The news media outlet tried to promote an alleged idea that French wheat is favored by Algerian consumers due to its quality and suitability for making bread, which is widely consumed in Algeria.

Following the sharp decline in sales of French soft wheat to Algeria, Paris tried, according to the same newspaper, to seek a relative outlet in Morocco, but this did not compensate for the loss of the Algerian market, which for years was the first customer for French cereals.

As a result of this decline, the agricultural sector lost its position as one of the most prominent economic sectors that export its products to Algeria, and became a real crisis and fell to fourth place in the list of exporters to Algeria, according to the Directorate General of the French Treasury.

Tags: exports, France, wheat, imports, crisis, soft wheat, Algeria