In the Maghreb, a little more than elsewhere, the soaring prices of basic necessities have a serious impact on the household basket. Yet in the beating heart of the city center of the Maghreb metropolises with regard to the availability of foodstuffs in the stalls of the markets, it is clear that the shortage is not topical.
And if the fruits, vegetablesfish, meateggs, oil, dairy products, flour and derivatives… abound, their prices however remain unaffordable for many citizens. The record in this area is held by Tunisia, which is mired in an increasingly critical economic and financial crisis with an inflation rate that climbed to 10.4% last month. It is the worst economic crisis since its independence in 1956.
IAlgeria is no exception to this phenomenon and, like its wilaya, it has to deal with an unprecedented surge in prices. Moreover, unlike Morocco, Mauritania or even Tunisia, many products are running out of Algerian market stalls. Algeria, strongly impacted by the global inflationary trend and the prices of food products which have exploded, despite the income from its hydrocarbons, pays the tribute of importing the bulk of its food resources.
This is felt more, especially in this holy month of Ramadan where galloping inflation persecutes Algerian consumers and jeopardizes their purchasing power. Even if the National Statistics Office (ONS) wishes to reassure the situation by lowering its data, the reality is different and prices have reached unprecedented levels on the markets and we can therefore worry about the stock market. Algerian households. ONS Faith,”this upward trend occurs for the third month in a row this year and is mainly driven by the increase in the prices of food goods which are at a rate of +2.0%”.
Prices for fresh agricultural products increased by 3.2%. More or less significant variations characterize certain products, in particular, chicken meat (+19.1%), sheep meat and offal (+3.3%) and vegetables (+8.2%) of which (the onion which has become the king of vegetables in Algeria which almost reaches two euros), specifies the ONS, which nevertheless indicates that “on the other hand, price decreases are observed for potatoes (-7.2%) and eggs (-6.7%) “.
But on the ground, industrial food products mark an increase which oscillates between 16 and 18% of their prices, in particular for oils and fats. The prices of products derived from cereals, however subsidized, are experiencing a mad increase of more than 15%, as well as the prices of meat and fish. Imported or local fruits have also increased with mention for the banana, which is dear to Algerians, and vegetables have at least doubled. On imports, the prices of coffee and tea were not left out and soared by a quarter of their prices in less than a year.
This generalized increase which testifies to a crazy inflation makes that the basket of the Algerian housewife suffers because she buys fewer goods and services while seeing her purchasing power slipping away. The ONS even if willingly, it misleads public opinion, however confirms the inflationary trend that the Algerian economy is experiencing, “ in February 2023 and compared to the same month of 2022, the change in consumer prices is +9.9%”, also indicating that “the rhythm ofannual inflation (March 2022 to February 2023 / March 2021 to February 2022) is +9.3%”she thought..
Also in this slump, we will hardly be surprised if a good number of Algerian citizens ask that their purchasing power be taken into consideration by the military regime in Algiers, which has nothing but it for itself. Especially since we are in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of mercy and which occurs this year in a particular context for Algeria. Indeed, it is experiencing an unparalleled spike in the prices of food, drink and basic necessities.