2008 US-Algeria Agribusiness Trade Mission
Wisconsin – Iowa – California
October 21-31, 2008

On October 21-31, 2008 the US-Algeria Business Council and the Algerian Embassy in Washington DC, hosted the 2008 US-Algeria Agribusiness Trade Mission. With the support of the US Department of Agriculture, the US Department of State, the US Embassy in Algeria and the Algerian Embassy in the United States, the USABC maximized the Algerian delegate’s exposure to three of the key states involved in the US agricultural export market. Over nearly two weeks, the US-Algeria Business Council and its delegation of 34 Algerian agribusiness men traveled to three states and visited dozens of US companies. Touring Wisconsin, Iowa and California in the harvest season was a beautiful opportunity to see the production stage of several of the key crops that are exported to Algeria. The delegates benefited from the opportunity to see US technology and agricultural production firsthand, and this trade mission yielded new partnerships and contracts for US and Algerian companies. At each stop the Algerian delegates were warmly received and the US companies were eager to discuss opportunities for trade and cooperation.

The Trade Mission started in the state of Wisconsin with a focus on dairy production. The Algerian delegation visited several dairies and farms of varying sizes. In addition to several private farms, the delegation also visited the US Department of Agriculture Forage Research Laboratory a working farm currently conducting experiments on different varieties of livestock feed and its relationship to milk production. In Wisconsin the group was accompanied by an American dairy expert who spent four years managing a large dairy farm in Algeria. His insights and expertise were helpful as the Algerians planned to start their own dairy farms. After seeing the equipment in action at the farms, the delegates visited two US dairy equipment manufactures currently exporting from the United States. Negotiations are under way to have these brands represented and distributed locally in Algeria by the delegates.

From Wisconsin, the delegates traveled to Iowa to visit the city of Elkader, named after Emir Abdelkader. The USABC delegation was warmly received by the Mayor of the City of Elkader and the members of the Sister Cities Elkader-Mascara Committee at the Schera’s North Africa Restaurant. Commercial visits in Iowa focused on farm machinery and wheat and corn production. One of the highlights of the Iowa tours was visiting a barge loading station for the transport of grain on the Mississippi River. Iowa is one of the richest agricultural states in the United States and its special connection to Algeria through the Sister Cities program of Elkader, Iowa and Mascara, Algeria made it a very special destination for the Algerian delegates.

Following the tour of Iowa the delegates traveled to California to visit nut and dried fruit manufacturers, pulse, seed and grain cultivators, and to visit additional dairy installations. One of the leading dried fruit producers of California sought dried dates from the Algerian delegates. Negotiations have begun for the export of containers of Algerian dates to the United States. In Tulare County, the delegates visited one of the largest dried milk plants in the United States and placed orders for several thousand tons of US dried milk. One of the highlights of the California tours was the visit to a livestock genetics company. This company exports sire semen across the world to increase milk production through the introduction of superior genetic material. The Algerian delegates had seen numerous dairy cows sired through this company in their tours in Wisconsin and California. Sitting down with the company’s executives in Visalia, California helped the delegates to learn the science behind superior milk production. These introductions will be the cornerstone in the delegates’ projects to launch large-scale dairy farms in Algeria.

The progress of the 2008 US-Algeria Agribusiness Trade Mission paralleled the harvest and transformation of US corn. In Wisconsin we watched the combiners harvest corn at night and saw the stripped fields by day. In Iowa we saw this corn loaded onto barges for the slow trip down the Mississippi and in California we saw this corn unloaded at mills where it was dried and crushed for livestock feed. The livestock corn meal was given to the cows at each dairy farm we visited and its nutrients contributed to the high quality cheese and powdered milk the delegates viewed at several dairies in Wisconsin, Iowa and California. From the harvest to the tasty cheese, the delegates on the US-Algeria Agribusiness Trade Mission completed the cycle of the American farm. The response to the visit of the Algerian delegates from the US companies was very positive. Several of the US business executives have already planned their trip to Algeria to continue negotiations.