Miller Magazine Issue: 155 November 2022

97 MILLER / NOVEMBER 2022 COUNTRY PROFILE Algeria is among the largest consumers of wheat in the world. Although domestic pro- duction has improved over the years, it re- mains weather-driven, and does not meet do- mestic demand. Therefore, Algeria continues to import wheat. USDA estimates Algeria’s wheat imports at 8.3 MMT for the 2022/23 season. Algeria is the largest country in Africa with more than 43 million people and vast natural resources. Algeria’s land mass is 2,381,741 sq. km. The desert covers more than four-fifths of the country. In addition to its impressive size, Algeria has the fourth-largest economy in Africa, and it is one of the continent’s most compet- itive. The country is the hub of many multinational corporations’ francophone operations in northwestern Africa. The Algerian economy remains dominated by the oil and gas sector, which accounted for 19 percent of GDP, 93 percent of product exports, and 38 percent of budget revenues between 2016 and 2021. After contracting by 5.1 % in 2020, Algeria’s GDP rebounded by 3.5 % in 2021, supported by a robust oil and gas output rebound. The agriculture sector is one of the priority sectors for the Alge- rian government in its efforts to diversify the economy and attract foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector. After hydrocarbons, agriculture is the country’s second-largest GDP contributor, at around 10%, with 25% of the population employed in the sector. Algeria has 8.5 million hectares of arable land. The Algerian government encourages modern industrial ag- riculture using satellites, digitization, and other innovative tools, Algerian wheat market