"Where did the potatoes go?" Complaints and ridicule in Algeria after its absence from some markets

The absence of potatoes from a number of markets and vegetable stores in Algeria sparked reactions on social media, ranging from mockery of the difficulty of finding them to questioning the feasibility of setting a price ceiling if it is not accompanied by ensuring the availability of goods.

These interactions come amid complaints of disruption in supplies and the sale of a kilogram at prices of up to 150 dinars (about a dollar and ten cents) at some points of sale, despite setting the maximum price for the consumer at 90 dinars (about 66 cents), according to local reports, and taking into account the official exchange rate.

The Ministry of Internal Trade and National Market Control had issued an instruction, following a ministerial meeting on October 1, setting the farmer’s price of potatoes at between 60 and 70 dinars per kilogram, and the retail price at between 80 and 90 dinars, while calling on the oversight services to ensure that these prices are respected at the various stages of marketing.

Setting a maximum price is intended to protect the purchasing power of consumers, but the current complaints raise the question of how to ensure adherence to it while potatoes continue to reach the market.

The reasons for the supply disruption remain subject to multiple explanations.

In a statement to the TSA website, economist 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.

He believed that the entry of new crops into the markets may contribute to alleviating the crisis.

In the face of complaints, the “Hemaytak” Consumer Defense Organization called for intensifying oversight of points of sale, and urged citizens to report exceeding specified prices, mentioning the state and place of sale.

In parallel, the "TSA" website quoted the Trade Directorate in the state of Oulad Jalal announcing the start of removing potato stocks from the cold rooms in Ain Defla, Medea, Boumerdes and Bouira, with the aim of enhancing the supply. The Directorate explained that these quantities were stored mainly to contribute to controlling the market.

This coincided with the government’s launch, on Thursday, November 5, of a digital platform for daily monitoring of the prices of basic consumer goods and their availability across the Algerian states.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister, the platform aims to track goods and monitor their prices at various stages of marketing.

The government also stressed taking measures against attempts to create scarcity and manipulate prices.

While waiting for these measures to be reflected in the markets, users were busy sharing their experiences searching for potatoes, and raising questions about responsibility for their shortage, while others resorted to sarcasm to express their dissatisfaction.

On the Facebook platform, Ahlam Borha mocked the disappearance of potatoes, saying that preparing a dish from them now requires planning, calculating the budget, and a family meeting, after it was a support for the poor in their daily meals. She jokingly wondered what social class she belonged to because she owned six potatoes, demanding that they be returned to the markets, noting that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune set their price and did not ask for them to be hidden.

For his part, a user named Hakim Zain on the X platform said that the price of a kilogram of potatoes reached 180 dinars, after it was 130 dinars two days ago. A vegetable supplier was quoted as saying that the farmer’s price ranges between 70 and 85 dinars, considering that this makes selling it to the consumer in the north of the country at a price of 90 dinars per kilogram impossible.