Algerian potatoes and Moroccan tomatoes...two crises at the same time!

At the end of October and the beginning of this November, the shortage crisis and the record high prices of potatoes appeared in Algerian markets. Prices in retail stores suddenly jumped to 150 Algerian dinars (about a dollar and ten cents), and in some areas they touched 180 dinars, exceeding the maximum price officially set by the authorities, which is 90 dinars per kilogram (about 66 cents).

This caused a wave of anger and complaint, often mixed with sarcasm, among Algerian citizens. Especially since their country is the second largest potato producer in Africa after Egypt and ranks 17th in the world, according to figures and data issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture.

Many social media users called for the activation of temporary boycott campaigns for the purchase of potatoes as a means of putting pressure on merchants and monopolists to remove their stocks and control prices. While other Algerians faced the crisis with a lot of sarcastic humor, as a “potato” turned into a “rare currency” or “precious collectibles.”

On the other hand, many Algerians expressed their astonishment at the scarcity of a basic material from which Algeria produces millions of tons annually and whose country is the second largest producer in Africa. While a large number of observers placed direct responsibility for the crisis on “storage barons,” brokers, and speculators in the markets.

In a statement to the Algerian website “TSA”, quoted by the BBC Arabic website, economic affairs expert Ibrahim Qandouzi attributed “the relative scarcity to the intersection of factors related to weak production, difficulties in transportation and storage, and the multiplicity of intermediaries in the distribution of fresh agricultural products.” The expert also explained, "The entry of new crops into the Algerian markets may contribute to alleviating the severity of the current crisis."

In response to the potato crisis and its high prices, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued strict instructions on the necessity of combating the hoarding of agricultural products and preventing all forms of monopoly on them with the aim of creating scarcity, declaring “war” on parasitic speculative barons, according to what was reported by the “Algeria News” channel on YouTube. In addition, Tebboune announced a plan to establish a government institution responsible for controlling the market and adjusting prices in a flexible manner.

In neighboring Morocco, tomato prices have also risen in the local market due to the decline in productivity in the Souss-Massa region, the main tomato-producing region in Morocco, as well as the rise in fertilizer and fuel costs. In this regard, Morocco has taken the step of stopping the export of tomatoes to African markets in order to ensure the stability of local supplies and help reduce prices on the internal market.

Morocco is the second largest exporter of tomatoes to the European Union, but the size of its African markets is relatively small.

A government source, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the stop is “temporary” and aims to help regulate the market, adding that exports “will resume soon.” The source indicated that the most expensive tomatoes shipped to European markets were excluded from this decision. In previous years, Morocco imposed restrictions on the export of some fresh agricultural products to give priority to local consumption. According to Moroccan Finance Minister Fawzi Lakjaa, the government will regulate food exports to help reduce prices.