ALGIERS, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Book prices have soared in the 22nd International Book Fair of Algiers (SILA) on Sunday amid the financial crisis that the country is currently suffering.
The prices of books are becoming far from the reach of readers, which made it impossible for many of them to buy their preferable books during the fair.
"There was a slight fall in the sales compared with previous fairs," said Head of Algerian Publishers Association Ahmed Madi.
The main cause of the price hike is "the devaluation of the dinar by 35 percent in a year, as all materials used in the process of publishing books, including paper, ink and printers, are from abroad with foreign currency," Mustapha Guellab, owner of the private book publisher El Houda, told Xinhua.
Algeria is hit by a financial crisis due to the decline of crude oil prices in global markets, and the erosion of local exchange reserves, which fell from about 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to 97 billion dollars.
As many as 638 foreign publishers representing 52 countries are exhibiting their books on the fair, including South Africa, China, Russia and India.
