Profit Margin For Widely Consumed Products Falls Between 4 and 8%

Executive decrees capping the prices of widely consumed products are expected to be issued in the Official Gazette soon.

The list includes 12 products, including vegetables, fruits, meat, and grains, with the profit margin from producer to consumer ranging between 4 to 8% in a regulated manner for the first time.

These measures, as confirmed by officials in the financial and trade sectors during a media day on the Finance Law for 2024 organized at the El-Aurassi Hotel in Algiers, on Monday, will enable putting an end to speculation and the unjustified rise in prices that citizens complain about periodically.

The Finance Minister, Laaziz Fayed, said in an address at the opening of a media day organized by the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to explain the contents of the Finance Law 2024, that this fiscal year represents another step in consecrating the actual principles of ideal governance by entering into force, for the second year in a row, the provisions of the organic law 15-18 relating to the financial laws as well as its executive texts, adding that: “The year 2024 will be the year of continuing budgetary and financial reform, aimed at establishing the principles of transparency in public expenditures.”

“Given all the major stakes related to establishing and strengthening the foundations for sustainable growth, the Finance Ministry is working hard to make this budget reform a success, which consolidates the principles of public finance stipulated in Organic Law 18-15, related to the amended and supplemented finance laws, which was followed by the issuance of the law No. 23-07 dated June 21, 2023, relating to the rules of public accounting and financial management”, the minister explained in his address.

“Talking about the largest budget in the history of Algeria leads us to the bold measures taken by the President of the Republic to protect purchasing power and support national investment, by accompanying small and medium enterprises and Startups as well,” the minister added.

Speaking about the bold decisions, the Minister talked about cancelling the value-added tax on local products, as the Finance Law approved careful study to respond to market requirements, and the Export Support Fund will add more activities by accompanying exporters so that administrative procedures are easy to promote exports outside of hydrocarbons.

In this context, the chairman of the Economic Renewal Council, Kamel Maoula, said: “We are confident that 2024 will be the year of economic success for our country, thanks to the efforts of all public authorities and economic operators,” adding: “In the past, economic operators were waiting for the Finance Law with some anxiety, but today, the situation will be different, as the measures included in the Finance Law 2024 aim to preserve purchasing power, support investments, strengthen the national economy, and simplify the upgrade of tax procedures.”

The interventions of most economic traders focused on the reason for the rise in prices despite the measures taken by the government to control the market, and the Director of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance, Amel Abdellatif, responded by saying; “The Ministry of Finance takes the necessary measures every time to reduce prices by reviewing several fees and cancelling others. However, the market is generally controlled by supply and demand”.

She attributed the rise of products’ prices in recent years to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global inflation, the rise in maritime transport prices, and the increase in the prices of industrial products, most of which remain imported from abroad, stressing that the only solution to breaking prices today is local production.