The strategies of Algeria and Morocco in the face of the increase in the price of wheat
This week again, the price of wheat reached the historic price of 483 euros per tonne, and with the drought which has also affected France, the leading European exporter, the situation could get even worse.
© Pixabay / Andrey Braynsk
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
War in Ukraine, drought… The world wheat market is suffering from difficult circumstances, and the price per tonne has almost doubled in two years.
Since the announcement of the Indian embargo on Saturday May 14, although announced as one of the substitutes for Ukrainian and Russian wheat, importing countries have been looking for solutions to protect consumers.
Among them, Morocco and Algeria are among the most dependent on wheat from Eastern Europe.
And in both cases, the state puts its hand in its pocket.
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The second largest wheat importer in Africa, Algeria had recently turned to Russia and Ukraine.
On the domestic market, faced with the increase in prices, the Algerian strategy is intended to be protectionist.
Youssef Benabdallah, Professor of Economics
"In Algeria, the prices of wheat and its derivatives are supported by the state budget, there is no repercussion on the consumer, that said, this shortfall on the budgetary level will be reflected in the actions of the State, or even in the worst case, to increase its deficit. »
Although it is less widespread, Morocco has also implemented a policy of price freezes, but in addition to the war in Ukraine, there is a severe drought in the country's agricultural lands, which has reduced wheat harvests by more half this year.
This worries economics teacher and researcher Najib Akesbi.
“
Beyond good or bad annual harvests, Morocco is structurally dependent.
Assuming that we manage to hold out until the start of the next campaign, we have to sow, work, and still hope that next year will be rainy.
And so assuming that there are all these favorable conditions, we will have to be able to get supplies.
And we can only get our supplies from the world market.
»
This week again, the price of wheat reached the historic price of 483 euros per tonne, and with the drought which has also affected France, the leading European exporter, the situation could get even worse.
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Algeria
Morocco
Agriculture and Fishing