ALGIERS, March 24 (Reuters) - Algeria's total wheat imports fell 18.28 percent to 754,449 tonnes in the first two months of 2013 due mainly to a big drop in durum wheat purchases, official figures showed on Sunday.
Durum wheat imports dropped 53 percent to 102,433 tonnes in the January-February period this year from 218,320 tonnes in the same period in 2012, according to customs data.
The data showed soft wheat fell 7.5 percent to 652,016 tonnes from 704,898 tonnes.
The overall value of durum and soft wheat imports reached $277.42 million, a 11.26 percent decrease from the first two months of 2012.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Mark Potter)
((hamid.ouldahmed@thomsonreuters.com)(+ 213 21 72 70 20)(Reuters Messaging:hamid.ouldahmed.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: ALGERIA WHEAT/IMPORTS
