Potential of margarine deliveries from Russia to Algeria estimated at $5 million/year - Agroexpert

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - The estimated potential of margarine supplies from Russia to Algeria is $5 million per year, according to a review by the Russian Agriculture Ministry's Agroexport center.

The main competitors of Russian products in this market are products from Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Singapore and Turkey.

Russia is not currently supplying margarine to Algeria. The authors of the review link the prospects of exports with the wide use of margarine by food producers in this country, and its popularity among consumers as a cheaper equivalent of butter. In the structure of organized trade in cooking fats in 2021, the share of sales of butter was estimated at 32%, while margarine was at 53%. At the same time, the country's level of self-sufficiency in margarine did not exceed 10%.

In 2021, Algeria imported 46,000 tonnes of margarine and other blends of fats worth $53 million. The key suppliers were Indonesia, Malaysia and Spain.

At the same time, Russia is gradually carving a place for itself in the country's oil and fats market. According to independent expert Ilya Ilyushin, who was cited by Agroexport, oilseed products, along with grain, form the basis of Russian agricultural exports to Algeria. "We are talking about soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oil, which together accounted for more than 60% of the value of supplies in 2021. Moreover, for the last two years, Algeria has been the leader among importers of Russian soybean oil," he said.

In the future, Russia can offer the Algerian market technological plant products for food enterprises, including complex specialized fats for the confectionery industry, Ilyushin said.

According to the review, turnover of agricultural products between Russia and Algeria in 2022 was up two times compared to 2021 (when it was $349.9 million). Russian exports to Algeria increased 2.1 times, while imports from this country decreased by 54.1%. In 2021, Russia exported $336 million worth of agricultural products to Algeria.