Figures released this week by the national center for information and statistics show that Algeria registered a record trade surplus of $31.82 billion in 2006, an increase of some 24% over 2005. This impressive back-to-back performance is mainly due to the strong increase in the value of hydrocarbon exports, alongside a very slight increase in imports. This growth has been accompanied by ever-increasing demand from the global market, and Algeria is reaping the benefit. In fact, hydrocarbon exports increased in value by 14.77%, reaching a total of $51.75 billion. Hydrocarbons once again accounted for 97.98% of the country’s total exports. Non-hydrocarbon exports made up the remaining 2.02% of the total export volume, with a value of $1.07 billion, despite significant public spending and state efforts to boost its share. Algeria’s principal exports markets were the US ($14.04 billion), Italy ($8.98 billion), Spain ($5.52 billion), and France ($4.33 billion), while its
