Foreign trade figures of Algeria

Foreign Trade in Figures

Algeria has an open economy in which foreign trade represents 59% of GDP (World Bank). Natural gas and petroleum products account for nearly all exports: in 2022, hydrocarbons covered 89.8% of the total volume of exports (41% natural gas, 30.3% crude oil and 15.4% motor fuels). The remaining exports (10.2%) consisted of derivatives from the oil and gas industries (fertilizers, ammonia, oils from tar distillation), as well as agro-food products (dates, sugar). As per imports, four product groups contribute to over one-third of the total: food products (16%, primarily cereals and dairy); industrial equipment goods (10.9%); plastic products (7.3%); and electrical equipment goods (5.1% - data French Ministry of the Economy). According to the National Centre of the Trade Register (CNRC), in 2022 the number of exporters rose to 5,498 operators against 4,749 at the end of 2021.

Data from the French Ministry of the Economy show that France was the third-largest customer of Algeria in 2022, accounting for 10.5% of the total, behind Italy (32.3%) and Spain (12%); whereas China was the top supplier with a market share of 18.6%, followed by France (14%) and Italy (7.7%). To boost its foreign trade, Algeria signed several trade agreements, as well as  ratifying the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2019 in Accra, Ghana. The agreement allows interested states to benefit from the progressive elimination of tariff barriers for a period of five years from its entry into force in July 2020. The agreement aims to free African states from dependence on the extraction of raw materials and promote inter-African trade.

While the trade balance was historically positive, the surplus has vanished completely since late 2012 and the country has had a trade deficit since 2014. This reduction was due to a sharp fall in hydrocarbon exports. Incomes have also decreased drastically with the fall of oil prices. Nevertheless, such a trend reversed in 2021 thanks to the uptick in energy prices and it improved further in 2022 as Algeria benefited from the consequences of the EU sanctions towards Russia, which led to an increase in European hydrocarbon imports from Algeria. Data from the World Bank shows that the country’s trade balance was positive by an estimated 11.6% of GDP in 2022. In the same year, exports of goods increased by 58% year-on-year, reaching USD 60.9 billion; whereas imports grew at a much slower pace (+4.1%, at USD 39 billion). In terms of services, the country exported the equivalent of USD 3.5 billion and imported USD 8.3 billion (data WTO). According to preliminary figures from the government, as of the end of September 2023, Algeria's hydrocarbon export revenues reached approximately USD 38 billion, with an average oil price of 82 dollars per barrel. In 2022, hydrocarbon export revenues were around USD 59.5 billion, with an average barrel price of 104 dollars.