WASHINGTON: Algeria’s grain imports rose 9 percent in the first five months of 2016 from the same period a year earlier due to much higher purchases of barley and soft wheat, official data showed on Sunday.
Algeria, one of the world’s largest grain importers, has been trying to reduce its import bill in an attempt to offset a fall in world oil prices which has hit state finances. Barley imports rose 45 percent to 576,044 tonnes in the January-May period of 2016, according to customs figures. Soft wheat import volumes were up 15.75 percent to 3.2 million tonnes, while durum wheat purchases rose 5.7 percent to 937,504 tonnes.
Maize purchases declined 6.20 percent to 1.81 million tonnes, the data showed. The overall value of grain imports dropped 17 percent to $1.37 billion because of lower prices. The North African country harvested 4 million tonnes of grain in 2015, up 14.3 percent from the previous year.
