Algeria Prohibited And Restricted Imports

Algeria is moving to ban the import of 900 types of goods that were classified as unnecessary in an effort to reduce the value of the import bill.

The list includes mobile phones, some categories of household appliances, furniture, vegetables, meat, cheese, fruits, chocolate, pastries, pasta, juices, bottled water and building materials, as the ban will be reviewed periodically, according to an official document that was quoted by Reuters.

Last December, Commerce Minister, Mohamed Ben Merradi, announced the banning of 900 products from import, except for cars that may be used to open the field of importation in a limited period, and expanding the list of taxable goods on domestic consumption, in addition to developing preventive measures in the context of consumer protection, which are new procedures that came into force early in 2018.

“Trade Ministry decided to freeze all import licenses. In return, customs tariffs were raised and a domestic consumption tax was added. An executive decree will soon be issued, to determine this list temporarily, according to the status in the short and medium term. The import bill was estimated at $45 billion”.

Tariff quotas that were set out in the framework of the Association Agreement with the European Union, relating to certain manufactured agricultural products, which are scheduled to be opened during 2018, will be opened from now on, through the public auction, referring to the standard conditions book for the modalities and ways of obtaining shares or one of its branches through the auction, under the joint ministerial decision between the Commerce and Finance Ministries.

The resolution includes 45 groups of final products, that are consisting mainly of goods that are not widely consumed, or those that cover the national market needs, through the national production. 

The Ministry also intends, after government approval, to declare a single quota for vehicles (transport of goods, passengers and tourist vehicles).

As for the imported materials on which the freezing decision will be applied,  Ben Merradi mentioned luxuries such as chocolate and cheeses (excluding bananas), in addition to beverages, drinks, mineral water, and meat (excluding beef with specific quotas).

In addition to the power tools, batteries, smartphones, computer central units, plastic pipes and equipment, and decoding cards.

Algeria took a number of austerity measures recently, due to the sharp drop in oil prices and the decline in the cash reserves.

Algerian authorities are trying to find alternative economic options for oil, which constitutes most of the country’s exports.

In the first ten months of 2017, the total value of imports reached about $ 38.18 billion, according to Algerian customs’ data, a figure which is not far from that of the same period in 2016, when Algeria imported $ 38.88 billion.

Algeria’s foreign exchange reserves will fall to $ 85.2 billion next year, which is equivalent to 18.8 months of imports, which is expected to reach $ 102.4 billion.