In September an Algerian commercial importer made the first ever purchase of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn gluten feed (CGF) into Algeria. This was made possible in part by U.S. Grains Council efforts that led to the successfully removal in September 2012 of the value added tax (VAT) and custom tax on all feed imports in Algeria, including DDGS and CGF.

That initial purchases has led to additional purchases of DDGS by Algerian feed millers. USGC Director for the Middle East and Africa Cary Sifferath expects these sales to grow into regular purchases around 10,000 to 20,000 metric tons of DDGS and CGF combined annually.

“Products like DDGS and CGF were included in a list of feed ingredients that have had their import duties and VAT reduced to zero until August 2014 through continuous efforts by the Council and support from our allies,” Sifferath said. “The Council still sees more opportunities for U.S. corn co-products like DDGS and CGF in the future as the market continues to develop.”

Since DDGS and CGF in the past were not used in Algeria, there is a lack of knowledge on how to use DDGS and CGF in poultry and ruminant diets. The Council is coordinating its policy work with an effort to educate Algerian end-users about the proper utilization of DDGS and CGF.