Algeria: Intra-Africa trade and tariff profile

This Trade Data Update provides an overview of Algeria’s intra-African trade relationships, both within the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and with other individual African countries; the top import and export products traded; and applicable tariffs.

Data is sourced from the International Trade Centre (ITC) TradeMap database and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Tariff Database. The update is accompanied by a visual representation of key data and trends in an infographic.

Regional Economic Communities

Algeria is a member the Pan-Arab Free Trade Area (PAFTA) also called the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA). Under this agreement there are no import duties charged on intra-REC imports from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco or Sudan (as well as several other non-African countries). The (temporary) rules of origin are that there must be 40% content from within the free trade area.

Although not yet a member of the World Trade Organisation Algeria has a single tariff regime for all partners outside its free trade agreement arrangements.

Intra-Africa trade

In 2017 Algeria exported and imported goods to the value of US$1.8 billion and US$1.2 billion, respectively to and from the rest of Africa. Intra-Africa exports account for 5% of Algeria’s total exports and intra-African imports for 3% of Algeria’s total imports for 2017.

• Algeria’s intra-African exports are dominated by petroleum gas, accounting for almost 90% of exports to the continent. Solid form sugar is the other major export.

• Algeria’s intra-African imports are more diversified with the main product categories covering coffee, food preparations not elsewhere specified, copper wire and tobacco.

• Algeria’s top ten intra-African imports account for less than 40% of total imports from other African countries.

• Algeria’s top trading partners for both export and import are neighbours Morocco and Tunisia; and Egypt.

• Exports to these three countries are dominated by petroleum gases. Imports are more varied, Algeria imports steel, plastics, chemicals and oils from Tunisia. From Morocco, the main imports are clothing, tobacco and iron and steel, while from Egypt, the top products are food preparations (beverage concentrate), copper, and plastics.

• Outside of the PAFTA, the most important export destinations in Africa are neighbour Mauritania, and Senegal, with sugar the main product going to Mauritania, and mineral fuels to Senegal – although together these markets account for less than 5% of Algeria’s exports to the continent.

• Top imports from outside the PAFTA include coffee from Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon and tobacco from South Africa. These markets account for 6.7%, 1.5% and 3.3% respectively of Algeria’s total imports from the continent. Côte d’Ivoire is Algeria’s second largest source for coffee imports, behind Vietnam.

Intra-Africa import tariffs

The PAFTA is a free trade area; goods imported into Algeria from PAFTA states enter duty free. There are no rules of origin in the PAFTA agreement.

• Algerian imports from outside PAFTA are levied ad valorem duties of 0%, 5%, 15% and 30%. There are no specific duties. Most imports enter at 30% duties, including meat and meat products, textiles and clothing and fruit.

• Ores, slag and ash, wood pulp and railway locomotives face 5% duty, while photographic goods and ‘other base metals’ face a 15% tariff.

• Products under several tariff lines are also imported duty free, including wheat for sowing, medical devices and some pharmaceuticals, various aircraft and military vehicles and weapons, and works of art under HS97.

• Algeria’s main import from countries outside the PAFTA is coffee, which incurs 30% import duty, as do dried grapes, some tobacco and some frozen tuna. Among the remainder of Algeria’s top ten imports from within the continent, duties range from 0% for some lines of medium oils and preparations, 5% for sesamum seeds, and 15% for clutches, cocoa paste and other tobacco.