Only two countries are currently witnessing potato shortages: Algeria and North Korea.
In Algeria viral videos on social media showed dozens of citizens raiding fields to pick unripe potatoes themselves after the vegetable disappeared from the domestic market amid very high prices.
The people desperately descended on farmlands, digging up and filling bags, as if the country was suffering famine.
Many restaurants stopped serving french fries and potatoes, a staple food for millions of households.
Reports from outlets monitoring the situation describe citizens heading to rural areas after failing to find potatoes in urban market.
The turmoil follows the government’s decision on October 1 to impose a price ceiling of 80–90 Algerian dinars per kilogram at retail (and 60–70 DA at the producer level).
Authorities presented the cap as a measure to protect consumers’ purchasing power amid rising costs, backed by subsidies for farmers and threats of crackdowns on “speculators.”
Official media showed police raids on warehouses, giving the impression that the country treats potatoes like cocaine.
Instead, many traders and producers appear to have withheld supplies, arguing the margins are too tight once transport, storage, and intermediary costs are factored in.
According to official figures, Algeria produces around 4.6 million tons of potatoes annually, ranking as Africa’s second-largest producer.
Officials repeatedly point to the El Oued (Oued Souf) region’s capacity of more than 1.6 million tons a year and promise that the new harvest, expected around mid-to-late November, will restore supplies within days.
In the meantime, the government has ordered the release of stocks from cold storage facilities and launched a digital platform to track prices.
Critics and independent observers, however, describe the episode as a familiar failure of rigid price controls, weak logistics and inflated state figures on local production.
Similar shortages and price spikes have occurred in previous years, raising questions about the effectiveness of top-down regulation in a country that boasts substantial production potential but where citizens can’t find potatoes in stalls.
