Algeria: traders warn to boycott “French apples”

The Association of Algerian Traders and Craftsmen Monday said it will boycott imported apples, in response to the President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Christian Estrosi.

“The National Association of Traders and Craftsmen warns all the importers that it will boycott apples. They will solely bare any possible loss,” said the Association in a release.

This comes as Estrosi Sunday called on France’s Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to ask Algerian authorities to drop ban on importing apples from the Alpes region.

According to Estrosi, French authorities “should” put pressure on Algeria to import quantities of apples.

The Association denounced the French official’s remarks, saying he made provocative statements about the Algerian market.

“France wants to export 20,000 tons of apples. They were produced in October 2016 and they have been stored in freezing rooms since then,” said the Association.

“Farmers started raising the number of fruitful trees. Because of that, importing fruit threatens the national production and discourages producers. Our country can cover the national demand and export the excess if it is exploited in a good way,” it added.