BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- Two permanent fairs for Algerian products will be opened in Mauritania and Senegal before the end of the first half of 2023, pending the launch of others in Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, and France.
This was announced on Tuesday by the Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni, during a meeting with Algerian exporters of construction products at the Palace of Expositions on the sidelines of the 25th edition of the International Trade Fair of Building, Building Materials, and Public Works (Batimatec 2023), reported the APS agency.
The minister said that “advanced negotiations are underway with the authorities of Mauritania and Senegal to open two fairs dedicated to Algerian products before the end of the first half of this year.”
Regarding the Algerian exhibition center in Niger, the Minister specified that its launch “requires time” because, he said, “we must create the infrastructure, unlike the fairs in Mauritania and Senegal, whose infrastructure is available.” He indicated that these permanent exhibitions, which will be supervised by the National Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Trade (ALGEX), will provide a space for the promotion of national products “throughout the year”.
“Similar fairs will be opened in Nigeria, South Africa, and France as part of the program to promote Algerian products worldwide,” he added.
This program includes Algeria’s participation in the main international fairs, which are beneficial for Algerian products, according to a study conducted by ALGEX.
The Minister noted the possibility of organizing a traveling exhibition of construction products criss-crossing African countries, calling on exporters to present their proposals on the exhibitions that they consider capable of offering them real opportunities for the opening of spaces of cooperation.
Mr. Zitouni highlighted the great capacities that Algeria has in terms of exports in various fields, stressing that “the objective of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to reach 13 billion dollars in non-hydrocarbon exports in 2023 is not fortuitous”.
The construction materials sector in Algeria also has “great potential” for export, thanks to “competitive and quality products”, affirming that this sector can exceed the bar of $1.3 billion achieved last year.
Algerian cement production capacities are around 40 million tons per year, while the national market needs nearly 20 million tons, hence the need to make more efforts to export the surplus, noted the minister.
However, the Minister deplored the inability to export all this surplus due to several factors, including the unavailability of basic infrastructure to increase the export of cement at all Algerian ports.
Calling on all operators to be ready to “access the African market in force,” the Minister recalled the importance of the African Free Trade Area (ZLECAF) and the tax advantages from which Algerian exporters can benefit.
During this meeting, the Minister listened to the concerns of several exporters related mainly to basic infrastructure relating to export and certain administrative procedures that hinder their activities, in addition to the imperative to protect the local product.
In response to these concerns, Mr. Zitouni reaffirmed his desire to eliminate all obstacles, particularly with regard to the provision of basic infrastructure for export, in parallel with the efforts of the Ministry of Transport “to assign 25 aircraft to the freight business and the restructuring of the maritime transport business.”
In the future, according to the Minister, workshops will be organized with all the players in the export sector to revive this sector and achieve the set objectives.
