Speculation Law to Prosecute Manipulators of Imported Meat Prices
These increases, which may affect the purchasing power of citizens, prompted the ministry to take action to uncover those involved in market manipulation, especially with the availability of quantities exceeding the needs of Algerians, as 17000 tons of Spanish, Brazilian and Romanian meat were imported for the month of Ramadan.
The increases primarily affected Spanish meat, which Algerian consumers highly demand. Initial investigations, starting last Thursday, included several butcher shops in El-Kalitous and Ain El-Benian in Algiers, where three dealers were referred for investigation. In addition, the trade services are monitoring the activity of importers who benefited from bank settlement operations to import meat, as they are checking their invoices and the selling price to the retailer.
Although the quantities expected to enter the Algerian market during the holy month reached 17000 tons, exceeding local demand, prices continued to rise at some points, raising suspicions about monopolistic practices and illegal speculation.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Commerce is moving, under the Anti-Illegal Speculation Law, which was adopted to combat monopoly and manipulation of prices of basic products. This law stipulates strict penalties, which may reach 30 years in prison in serious cases, especially if the price increase is deliberate and affects widely consumed products.
The law stipulates imprisonment from 5 to 10 years and heavy fines for anyone proven to be involved in speculation in basic materials, imprisonment from 10 to 20 years if the crime is committed in a crisis or disaster or if it leads to market disturbances, and imprisonment from 20 to 30 years in cases where those involved are part of an organized network aimed at creating fabricated scarcity or raising prices illegally.
The ministry is working in coordination with the security and judicial authorities to arrest violators, as anyone proven to be involved will be brought to justice under this law, which does not allow any leniency with those responsible for speculation.
According to official pricing, imported meat must be sold at regulated prices, with the price of Spanish lamb meat reaching DZD 2050 per kilogram, Spanish beef DZD 1350 per kilogram, and Brazilian vacuum-packed meat DZD 1200 per kilogram.
After butchers in the capital were caught manipulating the prices of imported red meat and did not respect the profit margins specified under the approved regulatory decisions, and after the control officers recorded an unjustified increase in the prices of imported red meat, the Minister of the sector, Tayeb Zitouni, gave instructions to intensify control work at all stages of distribution from the importer to the retailer to protect the purchasing power of citizens.
However, some markets record clear violations of these prices, which prompted the Ministry of Commerce's control teams to intensify field inspections, while taking strict deterrent measures against violators.
Spanish meat is widely popular with Algerian consumers, outperforming meat imported from other countries in recent years, due to its high quality and suitability to local tastes. With the start of the entry of Ramadan meat quantities since last February, in quantities exceeding the size of demand, the rise in prices remains a matter of investigation, especially since the state has provided the necessary facilities to import meat at reasonable prices.
These measures come in the context of presidential directives to control the market, as President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune stressed more than once in Cabinet meetings the need to ensure price stability during Ramadan, and not to allow any party to speculate on basic products, especially those that affect the food security of citizens.
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