Smurfit Kappa de Iurreta. /
Algeria is not a significant country for Basque exports, given that its weight does not even reach 0.3%, with 66 million last year. However, the North African country is important for some companies, especially paper mills, which concentrate more than 40% of sales and have their weight in Gipuzkoa. This sector is the one that is suffering the most from the diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Madrid due to the change of position of the Spanish Government with respect to Western Sahara, which has resulted in the blocking of commercial transactions.
Among the most affected Basque paper mills, the multinational Smurfit Kappa plant in Iurreta stands out, accounting for nearly 31% of Euskadi’s exports to Algeria.
In order to meet the needs of all the Basque companies that are affected by the conflict, the Lehendakari announced yesterday in the Basque Parliament the creation of a working group. He pointed out that there are 14 companies with a presence there, among which CAF and Iberdrola stood out, although he clarified that only the Omega Elevator group has a production facility in the African country.