E-Malt.com News article: 1793

Algeria's national assembly banned on November 11 the import of alcoholic beverages starting in January, prompting a warning from the finance minister that the country could face reprisals against its own wine and beer industries. Alcohol consumption is strongly discouraged in Muslim Algeria, but it produces a great deal of wine for export and consumes beer on an increasing scale. Officials said deputies voted 108 to 83, with 11 abstaining, on an amendment to the 2004 finance bill banning alcohol imports.

The national assembly is dominated by the National Liberation Front, which includes many conservatives in its ranks. It also includes 81 seats held by Islamists. "International trade does not recognize import bans," Finance Minister Abdelattif Benachenhou told reporters. "Algerian exports could suffer the same fate."

Figures kept by the International Trade Center of the UN Conference on Trade and Development show that Algeria imported alcoholic beverages to a value of more than 900,000 dollars (810,000 euros) in 2000, the last year for which data was available. The imports are taxed at up to 90 % of their value, and are mostly destined for high-class hotels and restaurants.

Despite Islam's enmity toward alcohol, publicly- and privately-owned breweries do a flourishing business, with estimating annual beer consumption at 3.2 liters per person.


14 November, 2003