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Algeria has suspended Russia's largest competitor in wheat purchases

Algeria excluded French companies from the tender for wheat imports and demanded that other participants not offer French wheat, which could strengthen the position of Russian suppliers, Reuters and TRT Africa write, citing sources.

The tender, which was announced this week, did not consider the purchase of French wheat directly, which is due to a poor harvest and higher prices compared to Russian offers. However, Algeria's actions have deprived French companies of the opportunity to supply grain from other countries.

The decision was made by the Algerian state agency for the purchase of grain OAIC, it did not explain the reasons. The interlocutors of Reuters linked what is happening to the aggravation of diplomatic relations between Algeria and France, including over Western Sahara.
In the summer, France supported the handover of Western Sahara to the sovereignty of Morocco, which angered Algeria, which supports the creation of an independent state. The Algerian Foreign Ministry accused France of undermining international law and UN efforts to resolve the situation in Western Sahara and recalled its ambassador to Paris. "The recall of the ambassador is the first step, followed by others," the Algerian authorities warned at the time.

Western Sahara is a territory on the northwestern coast of Africa. Since 1973, the Polisario Front has been operating there, a military—political organization that advocated independence first from Spain, then from Morocco. Today, Polisario controls about a quarter of the territory of Western Sahara. The largest city in the region, El Ayoun, is under the control of Morocco; in 2021, 22 African countries opened their consulates there or in another city of Dakhla, thereby recognizing Morocco's right to Western Sahara. In 2020, the United States recognized the kingdom's claims to this region.

Russia takes a neutral position, speaking about the right of the inhabitants of the people of the region to self-determination
This year, France will be able to export only 4.1 million tons of wheat to countries outside the European Union, compared to 10.2 million tons last year. Production fell to its lowest level since 1983, grain market analysts from Argus Media France calculated. Analyst Maxence Deviers called the situation catastrophic. "As a result, the region, whose total demand for wheat for 2024 is 32 million tons, will have to purchase more than 19.5 million tons of grain," he explained.

Argus Media predicts that "Russian wheat, which accounts for 82.5 million tons produced this year and 14.9 million tons in storage, [will] be the main winner from the loss of market share by French producers." Despite the fact that Ukraine produced 21.7 million tons of wheat this year, its export potential has been reduced due to the small proportion of grain in storage.

At the same time, North Africa is looking for new suppliers amid a sharp population growth and low local production. In Algeria itself, the harvest is expected to be below average due to drought. Algeria is the second largest importer of wheat in Africa after Egypt, the profile portal WorldGrain notes.

The US Department of Agriculture predicts consistently high volumes of wheat imports by Algeria and notes that Moscow is displacing other suppliers. "If the current trend continues, Russian grain supplies to Algeria may reach 3 million tons by the end of the season," the Russian trade mission in Algeria reported in October.

Mikhail Dobrunov
2024-10-10 22:49