Algeria to cap wheat imports in bid to save foreign currency

Hit by lower oil prices since 2014, Algeria is trying to reduce its wheat imports. (Shutterstock)

• Algeria is one of the world’s biggest buyers of the commodity

TUNIS: Algeria has decided to cap soft wheat imports at 4 million tons a year, instead of 6.2 million tons, the government said in a statement.

The decision aims to “preserve foreign currency and reduce Algerian imports of cereals, especially soft wheat,” it said in the statement late on Wednesday.

The government has also set the actual needs of the domestic market for soft wheat at 4 million tons instead of 6.2 tons imported each year, it added.

Algeria is one of the world’s biggest buyers of the commodity. However, hit by lower oil prices since 2014, it is trying to reduce its imports.