More than 80% of the products sold on Tunisian markets are of foreign origin; most of them come from China and Turkey and are of poor quality,’ revealed the president of the Tunisian Organization for Consumer Information (OTIC), Lotfi Riahi.
In a statement to Africanmanager ar, Riahi called for more controls at the point of delivery of these products and the fight against smuggling.
Tunisian factories are subject to regular inspections by structures under the supervision of the Ministries of Health, Trade and Industry, while foreign products are not subject to intensive controls,’ he said.
Riahi pointed out that the OTIC had recently launched a campaign to promote the consumption of Tunisian products under the slogan “If you love Tunisia, eat Tunisian”, with the aim of raising consumers’ awareness and encouraging them to buy Tunisian products that are compatible with their budget.
He also spoke of the need to create a label to distinguish local products from imported ones.
He added that the aim of the campaign was to correct certain misconceptions about the quality of Tunisian products and that its fundamental objective was to support local products and to work towards structuring prices in such a way as to bring Tunisian products directly from the producer to the consumer at reasonable prices.
We hope that the situation will change in the coming days in favor of Tunisian products and against foreign ones,” he said.
77% of Tunisians prefer counterfeit products because of their price
Clothes, cosmetics, home appliances… Tunisians have made up their minds: low prices make them buy counterfeit goods.
According to a survey carried out by the National Consumer Institute (INC) in 2016 on a sample of consumers aged over 20, 77% of Tunisians admit that they prefer counterfeit products because of their lower purchasing power.
The highest proportion of people who buy counterfeit goods is in the center-west (60%), and the most commonly purchased counterfeit goods are household appliances (36%), cosmetics (beauty and hygiene products and perfumes) (28%), clothing (23%), leather and footwear and IT equipment (19%).
Given these statistics, one might think that Tunisians are unaware of the impact and consequences of their choices, but the opposite is true: 77.6% of those surveyed believe that the products they buy can damage their health, 54.7% mention the risks to the state budget and 31.5% speak of risks to the environment. In the end, these figures are not shocking.
For years, Tunisian markets have been flooded with counterfeit products that are harmful to health.
According to the Tunisian Organization for Consumer Information (OTIC), over 80% of car parts, clothing and cosmetics sold in Tunisia are counterfeit, posing health and economic risks.
Similarly, according to the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), 70% of the gold bought and sold in Tunisia is counterfeit: three tons of Turkish gold entered the national market between 2012 and 2013, with the black market flourishing and no conformity checks in place.
