Algeria has instructed its urea producers to stop exporting the fertiliser to France, diplomats and industry sources told Reuters on October 23, in an intensification of trade curbs that have followed a diplomatic rift between Algeria and its former colonial ruler. Reuters said neither the Algerian government nor the producers had publicly announced the restriction at the time of its report — the halt is reported here as the sources described it.
Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026
Information about a halt emerged early last week, the French fertiliser industry association Afcome and the wheat growers' group AGPB said, noting that it could put at risk around 30 per cent of France's urea imports, Reuters reported. Three diplomats also said they were aware of the instruction, and six French and European diplomats said Algiers had in late July imposed a near-blanket ban on French imports, according to Reuters.
Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026
Trade data tell the scale in a second, independent way. World Bank trade data based on the UN Comtrade database show France imported about $219 million of urea from Algeria in 2025 — yaani about $21.9 crore, or 21 crore 90 lakh dollars — weighing nearly 481,000 tonnes and accounting for roughly a quarter of French urea imports, making Algeria France's second-largest supplier after Egypt. Argus Media, in its own market reporting, put France's total urea imports at roughly 1.9 million tonnes in 2025, with Algeria at 474,000 tonnes and 25 per cent — figures close to, but not identical with, the Comtrade-based count, as datasets differ.
Source: EuropeSays / World Bank-Comtrade data, Oct 24, 2026
Ties between Paris and Algiers deteriorated in 2024 when French President Emmanuel Macron backed a plan for autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, Reuters reported. The two countries sought to repair relations last year, at one point declaring the relationship was back to normal, but ties have since soured again.
Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026
Any disruption could create fresh concerns for French farmers, who rely on nitrogen fertiliser to maintain crop yields and have already faced higher costs, Reuters said. The dispute could also become politically sensitive for Macron's government, which is under pressure to shield households and producers from rising costs after France experienced some of its worst unrest in years last weekend, and a confrontation with farmers over fertiliser supplies could add to that pressure, according to Reuters.
Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026