Figures circulating about shortages of sheep and cattle in Tunisia are “all inaccurate,” said the Director of Agricultural Production at the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), noting that the Ministry of Agriculture has not conducted a livestock census for years.
Speaking to Mosaïque FM on the sidelines of a scientific symposium on compound feed held during the National Agriculture Fair in Hammamet South, Mnaouar Sghir added that shortages do exist due to market conditions and the scarcity of several animal products, while questioning the actual scale of the deficit.
Sghir declined to provide data on sacrificial animals, expressing reluctance to address the issue or respond to questions about market needs, particularly following the official announcement of the importation of one million animals.
He suggested that such discussions would be more relevant if the Ministry of Trade first established the number of Tunisian households, which he estimates at around 3.4 million.
