The government of Algeria has rejected a shipment of 27,000 tonnes of French milling wheat cargo. The country’s agriculture minister Abdelhamid Hamdani confirmed the report and said the cargo was rendered unfit for consumption after two dead animals were found in the cargo.
Algerian authorities are seeking compensation for the shipment, which is to be sent back to France, Abdelhamid Hamdani was quoted as saying.
The minister said the decaying animals were found in the past week in two separate batches of the cargo. Algeria is one of the world’s biggest wheat importers and France one of its main suppliers.
Reduction of the wheat import bill
Algeria’s wheat market has long been dependent on imports, a trend the government wants reversed through interventions targeting reduction of the wheat import bill and incentivizing local and foreign investors to put their money in the country’s huge industrial agriculture space.
A growing national population, now estimated at 44 million, and expanding urbanization that has seen nearly 73% of the people move to urban areas and cities, has meant increased consumption of both bread (common) and durum wheat, estimated at between 11 million and 10.7 million tonnes, surpassing the North African country’s domestic wheat production of approximately 3.9 million tonnes.
The North African country has also rejected a cargo of 33,000 tonnes of Canadian durum wheat for not meeting specifications, local media outlet Ennahar reported last week.
