Trade: Import controls to boost national production, economy

“When there is an opportunity to manufacture a product in Algeria that generates wealth and jobs, it must be seized to better boost the national economy,” said the Minister on the sidelines of the opening of the 2023/2024 ordinary parliamentary session at the Council of the Nation (Upper House).

The Higher Council for Import Regulation aims to “direct import funds towards national production and thus boost local production,” assured Zitouni.

“We cannot do without imports, especially when it comes to products that are not manufactured locally”, as is the case in every country in the world, said the Minister.

Emphasizing that imports are not a “taboo” subject if they serve the national economy, the Minister stressed that importing should not be “a culture” among importers, who are called upon, instead, to focus on local production of what they import.

Regarding speculation, Zitouni stressed that “the fight against this scourge will continue, not only through purely security and legal measures but also through economic ones parallel to the strict application of the law.”

In this respect, he said that the availability and preservation of national production also contributed to curbing speculation, considering that “the fight against this scourge is also a participatory approach involving retailers, professional associations, producers and industrialists.”

The Minister stated that prices of consumer goods on the local market are relatively low “compared with international markets, especially as the State subsidizes these products.”

In a statement to the press on the sidelines of the opening of the ordinary parliamentary session of the People’s National Assembly (Lower House), Zitouni affirmed that the Ministry was working on a series of decisions aimed at capping the profit margins of certain consumer goods.