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Algeria: general unease due to several causes

24/08/2017

2017 Season
François-Xavier Branthôme
Algeria,
Africa
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The Algerian press has extensively reported in recent weeks that the national industry has been affected by issues that have appeared in several forms. 
In the west of the country, in the Chlef region, the spectacular increase of surfaces dedicated to processing tomatoes, from 600 ha last year to close on 1 080 ha this year, along with excellent yields (close on 85 to 90 mT/hectare), have led to a harvest that has unfortunately amply exceeded the processing capacities of the one and only processing plant in the wilaya of Chlef. The queues of trucks have extended to the point that delays have exceeded 48 hours for a number of deliveries, with damage that is easy to imagine in terms of the quality of the shipments received by the factory. This has led a number of growers to dispose of major volumes of tomatoes in the rivers, as they have been unable to convince factories to accept them. According to the WPTC, which has relayed this information, several thousand tonnes (accounting for approximately 60% of the local harvest) have reportedly been destroyed or left to rot in the fields, due to the low capacity of the local processing potential.

Confronted by profound structural difficulties at the beginning of the 2000s, the processing tomato industry has undergone a remarkable progression in recent years. Along with notable initiatives on the agronomic and agricultural fronts (increasingly mechanized harvest, drip irrigation, plant nurseries, new varieties and strict compliance with technical itineraries), major investments have been made by the most influential local operators, particularly by the Benamor company, and local authorities have started to enhance local production by granting subsidies to industry partners. Processing tomato growers receive aid that is intended to facilitate the introduction of new growing techniques for higher productivity, amounting to 16 000 Algerian dinars per hectare (approximately EUR 124), to which another subsidy can be added, amounting to 4 000 dinars (EUR 31) for each tonne of processing tomatoes delivered to factories. These measures have accelerated the development of the crop, which has grown from 150 000 mT in 2005 to 550 000 mT last year – and 600 000 tonnes expected this year.

 
Evolution of processed volumes since 1989. Total surfaces planted with processing tomatoes in Algeria grew from 12 000 ha in 2009 to 23 000 ha in 2015.

In just a few years, yields have increased from 20 to 60 mT/hectare
More than 750 km away from Chlef, in the regions of Skikda, Guelma, El-Tarf and Annaba, which constitute the main production regions of the country and are best equipped in terms of processing infrastructures, issues linked to water availability could lead to a drop in the volumes harvested and processed. In this region, which accounts for the major part of Algerian processing operations, where the crop is expected to reach 600 000 tonnes this year, surfaces dedicated to processing tomatoes have recorded a sharp decrease. According to local agricultural service agencies, the El Tarf region is expected to see "only 2 600 ha planted in the 2016-2017 season, whereas it recorded almost twice that surface (4 850 ha) in 2015-2016." This is just one example, but it does seem that factories in the region have not been inundated by deliveries this year. According to local operators, growers and processors, there are several reasons for this situation. Of all the causes of the difficulties encountered at several levels, the main one is linked to very difficult national trade context. "The situation is bad, with the return of the crisis experienced at the beginning of the 2000s because of the low sales of double concentrated tomato paste, of which 70% of the production from the 2015-2016 campaign remains in the warehouses." For some commentators, the difficulties encountered by processors in selling their products have led to a drop in revenue that is sufficient to penalize payments for the recent harvest.

Import flows that are constantly increasing
According to the most recent figures provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Algerian stocks of tomato paste are currently at their fullest level. Local growers have called on the Trade Minister to request a temporary interruption of imports in this sector. Over the past 10 years, except notably for 2012 (76 500 mT), Algerian paste imports have remained globally stable around an approximate average of 50 000 tonnes of finished products, mainly triple-concentrated paste (68%) and double-concentrated paste (28%). For the period running 2012-2016, Algeria's average annual expenditure on paste imports amounted to USD 59 million. 

 
In a report published in the press, growers have defended a moratorium on imports, arguing that the currently low prices of imported products risk disqualifying the local processing industry's production and could lead to heavy losses for Algerian growers of processing tomatoes. In this difficult context, a recent report published by the Ministry of Agriculture clearly shows that the tomato industry has recorded an excessive production this year. Given this observation and the attention granted to this issue by the Trade Minister, the General Secretary of the UNPA (National Union of Algerian Farmers), Mohamed Alioui, has asked that tomato paste be included on the list of products for which import operations are banned.
But a decision of this nature would only solve a small part of the problem, explained local operators, who are conscious that the inadequate processing infrastructure is a recurrent problem, which has been felt all the more acutely this year because of the particular conditions that led to an excessive harvest.

Sources: Local and national Algerian press

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