Whether monthly, quarterly, or annual figures are considered, the trade balance deficit has shown striking regularity, without the slightest sign of relief, however fleeting.
The trade deficit stood in 2025 at (-21,800.3 million dinars), compared with (-18,927.6 million dinars) in 2024, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced on Monday.
The coverage ratio reached 74.5% in 2025, compared with 76.6% in 2024, according to the report on “Foreign Trade at Current Prices, December 2025.”
This deficit is rooted mainly in energy products (-11,143.9 million dinars), raw materials and semi-finished products (-5,863.9 million dinars), capital goods (-3,730.7 million dinars), and consumer goods (-2,341.7 million dinars). By contrast, the food group recorded a surplus of (+1,279.9 million dinars).
Moreover, it should be noted that the trade deficit excluding energy narrowed to (-10,656.4 million dinars), while the energy trade deficit stood at (-11,143.9 million dinars), compared with (-10,869.5 million dinars) in 2024.
Exports up 2.6%, led by mining
The results of Tunisia’s foreign trade at current prices in 2025 show that exports reached 63,695.1 million dinars, compared with 62,077.6 million dinars in 2024, representing an increase of 2.6%.
By sector, exports increased in mining, phosphates and derivatives (+15%), and in mechanical and electrical industries (+8.7%).
However, exports declined in the energy sector (-30.2%) due to a drop in sales of refined products (1,009.4 million dinars compared with 1,836.3 million dinars), in the agri-food industries (-7.4%) following a decrease in the value of olive oil sales (4,072.8 million dinars compared with 4,858.9 million dinars), as well as in the textile, clothing, and leather sector (-1.7%).
Tunisian exports to the European Union (EU) in 2025, which account for 69.9% of total exports, reached 44,527.8 million dinars, compared with 42,862.3 million dinars in 2024.
Exports increased with Germany (+10.7%), France (+10.1%), and the Netherlands (+3.2%). In contrast, they declined with certain European partners, including Italy (-9.5%) and Spain (-4.1%).
Toward Arab countries, exports increased with Morocco (+25%), Algeria (+7.5%), Egypt (+53.1%), and Libya (+0.7%).
Imports: Consumer goods at the top of the list
As for imports, they reached 85,495.4 million dinars in 2025, compared with 81,005.2 million dinars in 2024, an increase of 5.5%. By product group, imports rose for capital goods (+14.4%) and for raw materials and semi-finished products (+6.8%). Consumer goods imports also increased by 11.7%.
In contrast, imports of energy products declined by 6% and food products by 8.4%.
Regarding imports from the European Union (43.7% of total imports), they reached 37,321.2 million dinars, compared with 35,141.9 million dinars in 2024.
Imports increased with France (+12.1%) and Germany (+11%), but declined with Greece (-36.4%) and Belgium (-17.1%).
Outside the European Union, imports increased with China (+20.2%) and Turkey (+14.8%), while they decreased with Russia (-22.3%) and India (-7.1%).
