São Paulo – Algeria had a negative trade balance of USD 4.13 billion during the first eleven months of the year, way below the USD 10.5 billion deficit registered in the same period of last year, according to a report from Algeria Press Service (APS) based on information from the Customs’ National Centre of Transmissions and Information System (CNTSID).
This value is the balance between imports and exports, which stood negative for Algeria because the country imported more than exported during this period. According to CNTSID, however, the country’s deficit is USD 6.4 billion lower in comparison with the same period in 2017. The reduction occurred because of the growth in exports and a slight decrease in imports.
Algerian foreign sales abroad grew 18%, from USD 31.5 billion on the first eleven months of 2017 to USD 37.2 billion on the same period of this year. Imports decreased 1.8%, down by USD 776 million, from USD 42.1 billion to USD 41.3 billion over the same period. The exports have covered 90% the imports against 75% of the same period in the past year.
The bulk of Algerian foreign sales abroad are hydrocarbons, amounting to 93% of the total amount. The exports of these products grew 16% from January to November. Exports of other products stood at 7% of the total amount but grew 50% over the first eleven months of the last year. These are composed by semi-finished products, food products, industrial capital goods, agricultural equipment, among others.
Italy was the Algerian’s main consumer abroad this year until November and China was its first supplier. Besides the Italian market, Algeria sold a great quantity to Spain, France, United States and Great Britain. As for the main suppliers, China maintains its first place, followed by France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
