The food trade balance recorded a surplus of 489.7 million dinars (MD) at the end of February 2026, compared to a surplus of 391.1 MD during the same period last year, resulting in a coverage ratio of 136.5% versus 129.9% at the end of February 2025.
According to statistical data from the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI), the value of food exports increased by 7.8%, while imports rose by 2.6%. The growth in the surplus is mainly explained by a 24.3% increase in olive oil exports, combined with a 19.1% decrease in the value of grain imports.
Food exports accounted for 16.9% of total national exports, reaching a value of 1,830.5 MD at the end of February 2026. Olive oil exports reached 1,252.3 MD, compared to 1,007.6 MD at the end of February 2025, representing 68.4% of total food exports.
On the import side, food imports represented 9.9% of total national imports, amounting to 1,340.8 MD. Grain imports totaled 577.7 MD, a decrease of 19.1% compared to 2025. These imports mainly concerned wheat, with a value of 264.6 MD, accounting for 45.8% of grain imports.
Price analysis shows a drop in the average import price of durum wheat by 16.4% and soft wheat by 10.0%. Conversely, the value of vegetable oil imports jumped 74.4% to reach 127.9 MD, due to a 1.2% rise in import prices.
Sugar imports experienced an exceptional increase of 1,028.7%, accompanied by a 46.6% rise in the average import price compared to the previous year.
Regarding the overall trade balance, the deficit fell by 20.8% at the end of February 2026, reaching 2,784.2 MD compared to 3,517.0 MD during the same period in 2025. This improvement results from a 6.2% increase in total exports (10,803.1 MD) alongside a slight 0.7% decrease in imports (13,587.4 MD).
