* Algeria takes action to discourage durum wheat imports
* Fee to be lifted when details of tax known
* Algeria has large durum wheat stocks
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By Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Algeria's government has ordered private importers to pay a $200 fee, backdated to Aug. 1, for each tonne of durum wheat they import to encourage consumption of locally grown grain, government sources said.
The state grain agency has voiced anger at private importers and food processors, saying they have been ignoring abundant stocks of domestically grown durum wheat to buy from abroad.
"We have enough stocks of wheat. Our goal is to reduce imports," a source at the Ministry of Agriculture, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Algeria has already included a tax on durum wheat imports in its 2010 financial law but has yet to unveil any details on how much it will be. The tax will replace the fee.
"The fee, which is in fact a deposit, will be lifted when the details of the law will be published in the official gazette," the ministry source said.
A source with Algerian customs confirmed the fee, saying "an instruction has been sent to our agents to implement the measure".
Algeria, the world's fifth-biggest grain importer, has large stocks of durum wheat after a record harvest in 2009 and an above-average crop this year.
(Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; additional reporting by Valerie Parent in Paris; Editing by Jane Baird)