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About one fourth of Algeria's workers are engaged in farming, but agriculture contributes less to the country's GDP than either mining or manufacturing. The state plays a leading role in planning the economy and owns many important industrial concerns, including the mining and financial sectors. In the late 1990s, there was some privatization and openness to foreign investment.
Farming is concentrated in the fertile valleys and basins of the north and in the oases of the Sahara. The principal crops are wheat, barley, oats, citrus fruit, wine grapes, olives, tobacco, figs, and dates. Algeria is also an important producer of cork. Large numbers of sheep, poultry, goats, and cattle are raised and there is a small fishing industry.
Petroleum and natural gas, found principally in the E Sahara, are Algeria's most important mineral resources and its leading exports. Production was decreased in the 1980s in order to delay the depletion of resources but rose again in the late 1990s. There are oil pipelines to the seaports of Arzew and BejaIa in Algeria and As Sukhayrah in Tunisia. In 1993, a gas pipeline was laid between Hassi R'Mel (Algeria's main gas producing field) and Seville, Spain. Other minerals extracted in significant quantities include iron ore, lead, phosphates, uranium, zinc, salt, and coal. The country's leading manufactures are processed food (notably olive oil), beverages (especially wine), tobacco products, construction materials, chemicals, metals, textiles, and clothing. Algeria's limited rail and road networks serve mainly the northern region.
In recent years the annual earnings from Algeria's exports have been somewhat higher than the cost of its imports. The chief imports are food and beverages, machinery, iron and steel, and transport equipment. The principal exports besides petroleum and natural gas are wine and agricultural goods (especially fruit). Algeria's main trade partners are France, Italy, the United States, Germany, and Spain. The country has a very high unemployment rate, and about a million Algerians have emigrated to France since independence; their remittances constitute an important supplement to the economy. Algeria is a member of the Arab League.
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