Algeria: “$700 Million To Import Coffee Under The Microscope”

The authorities have opened investigations into financial transfers amounting to $700 million to import coffee since the beginning of 2024, and comparing the quantities that entered the national market with the prices approved on global stock exchanges, with a precise identification of importers, distributors and owners of commercial records practicing the activity.

This comes amid strict measures to implement the price ceiling decree issued last August, while active dealers in the field are demanding that they benefit from the removal of customs duties instead of compensating them for the price difference between the global market and selling to citizens, which they believe may take time.

While the government has ordered the provision of coffee without any price increases in Algeria, the situation is becoming more complicated between the Ministry of Trade and Export Promotion on the one hand, and importers on the other, as the ministry seeks to set regulated prices for coffee while compensating importers for the difference between the global purchase cost and the local selling price, in accordance with the provisions of the regulatory decree issued last August.

The ministry has also pledged to deliver these importers their dues within 72 hours, in order to ensure market stability and prevent inflation in the prices of this basic product.

However, this approach has received mixed reactions from importers who have expressed reservations about compensation, believing that it may be delayed beyond the specified period, which may put them under additional financial pressure.

Therefore, they are demanding the cancellation of customs duties on coffee as a faster and more effective solution than compensation, according to a letter submitted by economic operators in the coffee sector to the National People’s Assembly a few days ago, in anticipation of discussing the 2025 Finance Bill.

In light of these movements, a significant decrease in coffee imports to the national market has been observed in recent days, according to data revealed by the Ministry of Trade, which has raised concerns among the control services and led the relevant ministry to open an investigation, especially since the Algerian citizen considers coffee to be one of the basics of daily life.

In response to this situation, in-depth investigations were initiated into financial transfers related to coffee imports in recent months, which amounted to about $700 million.

The authorities are seeking to uncover the details of the import operations and identify the importers, distributors and parties responsible for supplying and distributing this commodity within the local market.

The relevant authorities have also prepared a list of the names of importers and owners of commercial records concerned with importing and distributing coffee, with the aim of auditing accounts, ensuring transparency and preventing any manipulation of funds, while investigating whether these people are working in the field of distribution without a commercial  register and without invoices.

In this context, the directives of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who stressed during his last meeting with the ministers the need for caution and vigilance to ensure the availability of basic materials in the markets without obstacles, warning of the consequences of any shortage or disturbance that may affect market stability and increase the burdens on citizens.

During the Cabinet meeting on October 20, the President of the Republic recorded a slackness in the determination to work among some members of the government, ordering everyone to wake up and define responsibilities, in fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the citizen who should be the main concern of every public employee, and ordered a radical review of the organization of marketing the national product to the citizen, by enacting a law in which the price ceiling system is used by decrees when it comes to unreasonable prices for products in their season, with the need to exercise the highest degree of caution and through it all regulatory bodies, including security, and to intensify supervision and raise it to its highest levels by placing food, agricultural and pharmaceutical products as a priority.

It is known that the government has stressed every time since the rise in the price of coffee in the global market the importance of providing quick and sustainable solutions to ensure the continued availability of coffee without the need for complex and long-term procedures, in order to avoid increasing the burdens on citizens, especially since with the acceleration of events and the multiplicity of opinions, the citizen remains the main focus, as Algerians look forward to a solution that guarantees the availability of coffee at a reasonable price and without fluctuations that affect their daily consumption.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mohamed Nadir  Arbaoui chaired a government meeting devoted to reviewing and studying the various measures taken and proposed within the framework of protecting the citizen’s purchasing power, especially through price caps and controlling and regulating the national market.