Algeria: $ 40 billion at least earmarked for foodstuffs, medical care and equipment bill

A Study of the Association of Algerian Exporters ruled out the possibility of reduced imports of Algeria during the current year to 30 or 35 billion dollars, in line with relevant figures already announced by the Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, during the recent 20th tripartite meeting held in Annaba (eastern Algeria).

It  noted that the projected lessening of the country’s imports by retaining only the essentials and deleting all the luxuries, requires a bill Import of not less than $ 40 billion in the best of cases, if we have to list all the imported products that will enter the Algerian market in the course of the year .

To this effect, Mr Ali Bey Nasri told “Echorouk” that it is difficult to reduce the country’s import bill to reach $ 30 billion only during the current year, on account of the enormous foodstuffs’ bill even by scrapping all the luxuries, and retaining only the wheat, corn, milk, coffee, sugar and oil, stressing that this would reach at least $ 5 billion and up to $ 6 billion, in line with basic commodity prices on the international market.

He noted in this connection that Algeria imported $ 2.5 billion worth of wheat,  $ 1.5 billion worth of milk and $ 800 million of corn, $ 100 million of sugar and 300 million dollars of coffee, as well as other irreplaceable and essential commodities.

Our interlocutor added that the country’s pharmaceuticals’ import bill costs annually an average of two billion dollars, in order to preserve the Algerian citizens’ health, without losing sight, he said,  of imported industrial materials,  equipment and property that will won’t be less than $ 30 billion dollars combined.

He however stated that the only industrial raw material that isn’t imported from abroad is represented by the phosphate fertilizers.