High food commodities prices outrage Algerians

Algeria witnesses an increase in food commodities prices as the tomatoes price reached 200 DZD per kilo, while potatoes costs 100 DZD per kilo and the wheat costs 40-80 DZD per kilo. The high prices angered Algerian consumers who called for the Algerian authorities to face the greed of merchants.

The Algerian Consumer Protection Organization decided to launch a national campaign on Wednesday to combat the price hikes phenomenon in the local market, especially as the government allocates $1.8bn of food subsidies annually.

The campaign was launched in coordination with the Algerian Trade Directorate, and is intended to put an end to the chaos that has spread in the market, since the beginning of January along with the application of 2017 budget. The Algerian Consumer Protection seeks to provide a number of solutions to the Algerian government to control prices and put an end to speculation and the greed of merchants.

Algeria witnessed a number of protests against the high prices in January in several governorates. Algerian Minister of Finance Haji Baba said, in a press statement, that the expected issuance of the Finance Law has contributed to the increase of some products prices in the market.