For the second consecutive year, Tunisia’s food trade balance has broken free from its historical deficit, posting a surplus largely driven by robust olive oil exports.
In the first nine months of 2024, the food trade balance recorded a surplus of 1,529.7 million dinars, a significant turnaround from the deficit of 764.7 million dinars during the same period in 2023.
This impressive performance resulted in a coverage rate of 130.4% by the end of September 2024, up from 86.7% a year earlier, according to a report released by ONAGRI on Monday.
Value-wise, food exports surged by 31.5%, while imports decreased by 12.5%. This surplus is primarily attributed to significant increases in the exports of olive oil (+56.9%), dates (+25.9%), and fishery products (+3.7%). In contrast, imports saw notable declines in sugar (-42.6%) and grain (-20.2%).
The rise in the average export price of olive oil, now at TND 26.75/kg, marked a 54.6% increase compared to the previous year. Export prices also rose for citrus fruits (up 21.8%), fish products (up 5.4%), and dates (up 3.5%) compared to the same period last year.
Conversely, import prices for grain products fell significantly, with durum wheat down by 13.3%, soft wheat by 20.4%, barley by 26.0%, and maize by 24.0%. Vegetable oils and dairy products also saw price declines of 14.4% and 6.6%, respectively, while sugar prices increased by 10.1%.
This positive trend in food trade has contributed to an overall reduction of the trade deficit by 11.3%.
Food exports accounted for 14.1% of total exports, while food imports represented 8.4% of total imports. Notably, Tunisia’s overall trade deficit fell by 3.4% to -13,496.9 million dinars by the end of September 2024.
August’s Success
August 2024 also demonstrated strong results, with the food trade balance achieving a
surplus of 1,606.2 million dinars, compared to a deficit of 556.2 million dinars in August 2023.
The coverage rate in August 2024 reached 135.5%, up from 89.1% a year earlier.
In value terms, food exports rose by 35.4%, while imports decreased by 11.1%.
Similar to previous months, the surplus was fueled by increased exports of olive oil (+62.0%), dates (+24.2%), and fishery products (+5.2%), alongside reductions in sugar (-39.6%) and cereals (-19.7%).
The average export price of olive oil in August stood at 26.87 DT/kg, reflecting a remarkable 59.0% increase from the previous year.
Import prices for grain products continued to decline, ranging from 14% to 26%.
