Algeria: Imported Arizona Seed Potatoes Cost Up to 4 Times Local Seed
A seed trader told Maghreb Emergent that class 1 Arizona seed potatoes cost about 100 dinars when local and up to 400 dinars when imported. Prices rise every year.
Imported seed potatoes in Algeria can cost four times as much as local seed. A specialised seed trader gave the prices to the news site Maghreb Emergent. The site published the report on 24 September.
The trader named one variety as an example: Arizona. For first-class Arizona seed, the local product costs around 100 Algerian dinars. The imported product can reach 400 dinars. The report does not state the unit of sale.
Prices rise every year
The trader said most of the seeds she sells come from France. She described a regular increase in prices from year to year.
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The article looks at vegetable seeds in general. It says Algeria imports more than 80% of its vegetable seeds. This figure covers all vegetable seeds. It is not a figure for seed potatoes alone.
Context
Algeria is one of the largest potato producers in Africa. Growers plant several crops a year in different zones. Each planting needs a fresh supply of seed.
Seed is one of the largest costs of a potato crop. When imported seed costs several times more, growers face a hard choice. They can pay more for imported seed. Or they can use local multiplied seed, which is cheaper.
The trader did not explain the reasons for the price gap. She also did not say how much of her seed potato sales are local or imported.
The report gives prices from one trader only. It does not give official data on seed potato imports or on the share of local seed in plantings.
Why it matters
A fourfold gap shows how much local seed multiplication can save growers. It also shows the exposure of Algerian farms to import prices and exchange rates.
For European seed exporters, Algeria remains a price-sensitive market. For Algerian growers, the choice of seed origin will affect both costs and yield risk in the next season. Growers should ask for the class and health certificate of every lot, local or imported.
Photo: Potatoes grown in El Oued, Algeria (illustrative). IRRIGATIONDZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
