In a report by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN), the development of the dairy sector to reduce dairy imports is a priority.

In this year’s budget, provision has been made to increase the subsidy on imported dairy stock from 25% to 50%.

Also in the Finance Act, Vat will be reduced to 7% for animal feeds and an exemption of import duties will be extended.

According to the report, dairy products are the second most consumed food products in the country after cereals and are considered a staple, along with cereals and potatoes. The government of Algeria estimates domestic consumption to be five million tonnes annually.

Algeria remains one of the world’s largest importers of milk powder. The country’s average imports of powdered milk over the last five years were 300,000 tonnes, valued at $1.24bn (€1.116bn).

Algeria’s official trade figures show that most skim milk powder is imported from EU countries, whole milk powder from New Zealand and cheese from the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and the US. Most butterfat products come from New Zealand, with the remainder from Brazil, the US and France.