By George Mwangi
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
Algeria's wheat imports are seen hitting a record high in the current marketing year through June 2024, the U.S. Agriculture Department said late Tuesday.
Imports are now expected at 8.7 million metric tons, exceeding the 8.4 million tons hit in 2016-17, the department said in its Algeria grain and feed update.
The increase is attributed to a below-average domestic harvest and reports of a relatively strong pace of imports by the government-run procurement agency, the Algerian Office of Cereals, the sole importer of wheat into Algeria, the department said.
In 2024-25, imports are forecast to remain at 8.7 million tons based on lower projected production and stable consumer demand, it said.
Algeria has continued to bring in Russian wheat throughout the conflict in the Black Sea region, although official data has yet to be disclosed, according to the department.
Russia has supplied more than 1.3 million tons of wheat to Algeria since the start of the current marketing year in July 2023, compared with 340,000 metric tons in the same prior-year period, the department said, citing Russian Union of Grain Exporters President Eduard Zernin.
Wheat production in the country is estimated at 2.7 million in 2024-25, the same as the current marketing year, due to drought, the USDA said.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-02-24 0637ET
