A seminar was held on Tuesday in Tunis by the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) and the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), on “retail distribution and employment opportunities”
As part of an information campaign on the new law passed in August 2009 related to retail trade, the seminar focused on the investment potentials offered by sector especially in high-added value activities.
The new law aims at organizing the retail distribution sector for the first time in Tunisia, and establishing regulations dedicated to franchise agreements.
The right of any person or entity to create a purchasing group is preserved by the Act which provides for the setting up of hypermarkets, supermarkets and malls.
“The new law supports the upgrading program of retail trade, which targets the promotion of hypermarkets and supermarkets as well as the promotion of small businesses”, said Ridha Ben Mosbah, Minister of Commerce and Handicrafts.
This program aims at strengthening mechanisms dedicated to protecting consumers, creating Tunisian trade labels, and encouraging operators working under the franchise agreements.
The Minister said that “the trade distribution employs about 300 traders and contributes to up to 10% of the country’s GDP”. It mobilizes 2% of investment, totaling 250 million dinars, he added.
Regarding job creation, the year 2009 was marked by 1572 jobs for wholesale trade and 15,104 for retail trade, he said.
These figures show the strong impact of the retail distribution sector in the implementation of Tunisia’s strategy dedicated to employment, in addition to its place in the development policy.
