algerianow

Algeria's Non-Oil Exports Top $5 Billion as Tindouf Free-Trade Zone Nears Opening

6 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria's exports outside oil and gas rose by almost $1 billion in 2025, and a 200-hectare free-trade zone at Tindouf, near the Mauritanian border, is due to open before the end of the year, Foreign Trade Minister Kamel Rezig told senators on Thursday. He was answering oral questions in the Council of the Nation, the upper house of parliament.

A diversification target within reach

According to the minister, non-hydrocarbon exports reached $5.16 billion at the end of 2025, up $972 million on 2024. For 2026, the government projects about $5 billion, close to last year's level, which points to consolidation rather than rapid growth. Dates, a flagship product of the southern oases, illustrate the trend: sales abroad earned $78.06 million in 2024 and $98.32 million in 2025, and $75.04 million in the first half of 2026 alone.

The Export Promotion Fund received 3,900 applications in 2025, mostly from firms seeking partial reimbursement of trade-fair and freight costs. The national export strategy relies on better infrastructure, simpler procedures and tailored plans for priority sectors.

The figures matter because Algeria still depends heavily on hydrocarbons. Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab has put hydrocarbon exports at $37.5 billion for the first nine months of 2026, which shows how far non-oil sales have to go. Diversification is a pillar of government policy, and the 2027 finance bill, now before the National People's Assembly, assumes an oil reference price of $60 a barrel.

Tindouf, a gateway to West Africa

The Tindouf zone is the most visible part of Algeria's push towards African markets. Mr Rezig called it a strategic project and said development works are now complete, with the site awaiting formal reception. The complex includes six large warehouses, exhibition areas, a goods-control centre, administrative buildings for customs, banks and insurers, a health centre and security and service facilities.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, laid the first stone in 2024, in a project meant to give Algerian exporters a land route towards West Africa.

The ministry is working with other departments on the formal handover and commissioning. A draft decree creating a public body to manage free zones is with the General Secretariat of the Government, and the zone cannot operate fully until it is adopted. The test will be traffic: whether Algerian and Mauritanian operators use the facility, and whether customs and banking services are ready on the first day.

More from Algeria Now

{{ hero.ago }} · {{ stT.sum }}

{{ svAllLabel }} ›

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ mt.whenU }} {{ mt.home.name }}{{ mt.hsL }} {{ mt.away.name }}{{ mt.asL }}

#{{ t.cols.p }}{{ t.cols.gd }}{{ t.cols.pts }}

{{ r.pos }} {{ r.name }} {{ r.played }} {{ r.gdLabel }} {{ r.pts }}

{{ s.rank }} {{ s.name }}{{ s.team }} {{ s.goals }}

“

Algeria's Non-Oil Exports Top $5 Billion as Tindouf Free-Trade Zone Nears Opening

More from Algeria Now

{{ svCur.title }}

{{ SB.title }}

{{ art.title }}

{{ p.text }}

{{ nxT.same }}

{{ searchTitle }}

Your daily window into Algeria

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ svStTitle }}

{{ g.label }}

{{ t.loginTitle }}

{{ t.archives }}

{{ t.advSearch }}

{{ hero.title }}

{{ une2.title }}

{{ stT.k1 }}

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ t.scores }}

{{ t.table }}

{{ st.scorers }}

{{ VT.sport }}

{{ sec.label }}

{{ it.title }}

{{ t.feed }}

{{ catListTitle }}