Over the past two weeks, the price of potatoes in Algeria tripled from 40 to 120 dinars as snow coverage has affected crops and speculators have exploited the situation.
"The price of potatoes has never reached these heights before. We were used to seeing cyclical increases of 20 to 30 dinars (per kilo), but then prices would come down again after a few days. This rise has continued and it's beyond all comprehension," said Makhlouf, a public-sector worker with two children.