Algeria bans wheat imports from France
Morocco's growing momentum on the world stage and the recognition by the world's leading countries of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara as the only ‘serious and credible’ plan to resolve the Sahrawi dispute has prompted the Algerian government to decide to stop buying French wheat.
In a move that will further isolate Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune's government has urged Algerian companies not to bid for wheat from France.
The consequences of this action will not be known, but it will be detrimental to Algeria's economy, as it is one of the world's biggest wheat importers. Moreover, its main supplier used to be the French Republic, which further aggravates the situation for the Algerian economy.
Algeria carried out a tender in which the Algerian Interprofessional Office for Cereals (OAIC) purchased more than 500,000 tonnes, according to traders' estimates. In OAIC tenders, sellers can choose where the grain comes from within a list of approved origins, including French wheat.
French companies were not invited to participate this time, and non-French companies were asked not to offer French wheat as a supply option. At this stage, the OAIC and the French Ministries of Foreign Trade and Agriculture have not yet responded to requests for comments.
Political experts claim that the decision stems from France's new position on Western Sahara, which is at odds with Algeria's wishes for the creation of an independent state.
‘The position of Paris is that the present and the future of Western Sahara are within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,’ said Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
The ban on the purchase of French wheat was not the first measure taken by Algeria. Days after Macron sent a letter to Morocco's King Mohammed VI on his 25th anniversary as head of the Alawite monarchy, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris, claiming that the French decision ‘was taken with great imprudence and without taking into account the consequences’.
The same situation occurred with Spain when in March 2022 the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced his support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Algeria also withdrew its ambassador to Madrid, ending a two-decade treaty of friendship with Spain in protest at the government's statements in support of Morocco's position.
In addition to wheat, France and Algeria had diplomatic problems after trucks carrying El Mordjene Cebon chocolate paste were detained on the grounds that they did not comply with the relevant sanitary measures for non-EU members wishing to export products to the region.
But this is not the first time this situation has occurred. Three years ago, France was already excluded from wheat tenders in Algeria. This has led to Russian wheat from the Black Sea dominating the Algerian import market.
The recent move could further strengthen this position of dominance, when grain prices are on the rise due to poor weather conditions in the world's main producers.
Sales from Canada or Australia, two of the big producers and exporters, are coming to a standstill for fear of a possible shortage. In just one month, wheat shipments have gone up in price by an average of 15 dollars per tonne.
In the United States, specifically in the state of Kansas, where 94% of American wheat is produced, the dryness of the soil has reduced production to alarming levels, 48% less. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that global wheat stocks will reach their lowest level in nine years, at 257.22 million tonnes in 2024-25.
Consultancy Strategie Grains predicted that the EU wheat crop for 2024-25 will be the lowest in 12 years due to poor weather conditions. The Rosario Grain Exchange in Argentina also forecasts the country's crop in 2024-25 to be around 19.5 million tonnes, which represents a reduction of 5% compared to the previous estimate.
In this context, the consequences for the Algerian population could be devastating as it is the world's largest buyer of wheat.