Four wilayas release stored potatoes to strengthen supply

The trade directorate of Ouled Djellal announced on Wednesday that potato destocking has started in Aïn Defla, Médéa, Boumerdès and Bouira, according to Maghreb Emergent.

Destocking means taking stored produce out of storage so that it can be sold. The potatoes are leaving cold rooms, which are refrigerated stores, to strengthen supply to markets.

The stocks were built up to regulate the market, according to a text published on Wednesday. The four wilayas are among the potato growing areas of the Centre region.

Prices set for each stage of sale

An agreement with representatives of farming sectors, farms and cold room operators sets the producer price at 60 to 70 dinars (DZD) per kilo. The retail price is 80 to 90 dinars per kilo.

Trade directorates in each wilaya must make sure these levels are respected at every stage of sale. They must also send daily reports to the central administration.

Two points of sale in Médéa sold the potato at 50 dinars per kilo, the daily Horizons reported.

Stocks in each wilaya

Checks accompany the measure, and the first quantities are known wilaya by wilaya.

In Boumerdès, 3,510 kilos were withdrawn from sale at the wholesale market on 3 November, according to the trade directorate of the wilaya.

In Médéa, 1,200 quintals, or 120 tonnes, left cold rooms in the commune of Sedraya. One quintal is 100 kilos.

The trade directorate of Médéa gave this in a statement dated 20 October, and further sales were announced from warehouses in Guelb El Kebir.

In Boumerdès, the agricultural services directorate of the wilaya put the late-season potato stock at about 6,700 tonnes. It will be sold little by little each day, in the wilaya and nearby wilayas.

The same directorate sold 316 tonnes in September.

Two more programmes will follow, covering 2,400 tonnes of dried garlic and 7,500 tonnes of onions.

In Bouira, the agricultural services directorate of the wilaya has opened sales points since 14 October, in coordination with the National Interprofessional Office of Vegetables and Livestock (ONILEV).

Storage and the Syrpalac scheme

The Syrpalac scheme was created in August 2008 to soften price swings. Its principle is old: buy seasonal produce, keep it in a cold room, and sell it again when supply is low.

Two public operators apply the scheme today, ONILEV and SARPA. SARPA was created in August 2023 under the supervision of the Agrolog group.

Storage relies on cold rooms approved under agreements, and operators receive a premium payment.

The harvest calendar

The farming calendar weighs as much as the stocks. In Aflou, in the high plains of Laghouat, the agricultural services expected 877,100 quintals from 3,032 hectares, with harvest spread until November.

A year earlier, the harvest was 1.4 million quintals from 4,800 hectares. El Oued is the first producing wilaya, with 45% of the national total, according to its chamber of agriculture.

Last season, abundance led SARPA to raise its purchases from 40,000 to 200,000 quintals.