Algeria buys about 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat at $319-321 a tonne

Algeria's state grains buyer, the Office algérien interprofessionnel des céréales (OAIC), purchased about 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat in an international tender that closed on Tuesday, 15 September, European traders told Reuters. Initial estimates put the purchase price between $319 and $321 a tonne, cost and freight included.

First volume assessments ranged from 500,000 to 510,000 tonnes, with some traders putting the total higher. Reuters cautioned that the figures reflect trader assessments and that final tonnages and prices may still shift as individual deals are confirmed.

Prices up roughly $30 a tonne since August

The tender marks a sharp step up in cost for the Algerian buyer. At its previous soft wheat tender on 5 August, the OAIC bought up to 720,000 tonnes at an estimated $289 to $290 a tonne C&F, according to trader estimates reported by Reuters. Awras noted that later estimates suggested the August volume may in fact have been closer to 540,000 tonnes.

The gap between the two tenders — about $30 a tonne in six weeks — reflects the narrowing of cheap supply rather than any change in Algerian buying policy. On a 500,000-tonne purchase, that difference alone adds roughly $15 million to the import bill.

Black Sea disruption reshapes the origin list

The tender allowed optional origin. Traders expect the bulk of the cargoes to come from Romania and Bulgaria, with northern European Union countries, including the Baltic states, a further possibility. Some traders also pointed to potential Russian wheat moving through the Baltic region.

Reuters said the tender came at a difficult moment for importers, with fighting having brought cheap seaborne Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports from the Black Sea close to a standstill. French wheat has been absent from Algeria's recent tenders amid political tensions between Algiers and Paris, removing one of the country's traditional suppliers from the competition.

Shipment terms were set in two windows for the main supply regions, including Europe:

• 1 to 15 November for the first tranche;
• 16 to 30 November for the second;
• one month earlier for cargoes originating in South America, India or Australia.

The combination narrows the pool of competitive sellers to a handful of Danube and Baltic origins at a moment when November loading slots are tight. For exporters in Romania and Bulgaria, the tender is a firm demand signal in the first half of the marketing year; for Russian sellers, Baltic routing offers an indirect channel into a market historically served through the Black Sea.

Domestic harvest gains do not close the soft wheat gap

Algeria is buying into a strong domestic season. Awras reported expectations of an exceptional 2026 grain campaign, with high output of durum wheat and barley. Durum production is estimated at more than 2.4 million tonnes against national requirements of about 900,000 tonnes, implying a surplus of around 1.5 million tonnes.

Ghani Ben Ali, head of the interprofessional council for the cereals branch, attributed the improvement to better weather and rainfall alongside farmer efforts and state support covering seed, fertiliser and equipment supply, financing and agricultural insurance.

That progress does not extend to soft wheat, where Algeria has yet to reach self-sufficiency and continues to rely on international tenders to supply its mills. A bulletin from the Food and Agriculture Organization dated 30 June put Algeria's cereal imports for the 2026-2027 marketing year at 14.5 million tonnes, including 8.5 million tonnes of wheat and 5 million tonnes of maize.

On those volumes, Algeria remains one of the reference buyers in the Mediterranean wheat trade, and its tender calendar continues to set a price marker for European exporters through the autumn.