Tunisian businesses are again living through a climate of instability! The environment in which business leaders operate remain far below their expectations! Businessmen blocked, while others are banned from travel! Worse, 60% of domestic companies are unprofitable! Indicators and financial statements are indeed flashing red.
In a survey entitled “The Tunisian industry between the global economic crisis and the internal political transition,” conducted by the Tunisian Center for Monitoring and Business Intelligence (CTVIE) and the Arab Institute of Business Managers (IACE), the CTVIE indicated that the level of satisfaction of business leaders with the business environment in which they operate remains inadequate.
In addition, business leaders involved in the survey of the IACE, point, indeed, to major difficulties in the supply of raw materials, but also the loss of market share both locally and at export.
According to the survey, the loss of markets and its consequences in terms of production and employment are the typical characteristics of any recession like the one currently facing the global economy. It noted that Tunisia, which is open to global trade, can not escape the rule especially in terms of its industry, said the survey of the IACE , pointing out that Tunisia is considered as the largest exporter of manufactured goods in Africa and should therefore be affected by any external shock, especially in terms of its customers.
However, the survey showed that the loss of markets may also result from internal shocks to the national economy. In the case of Tunisia, this type of shock is, in the opinion of most observers, directly related to the situation of political transition experienced by the country for more than two years. This was reflected, in particular, among others, in repeated disruptions of productive activity in several production units as a result of social and wage demands. This is due, also, to a climate of uncertainty about the political future of the country which led to a reduction in investment and a significant decline in the purchasing power of consumers limiting domestic demand.
The CTVIE/IACE survey also referred to two other types of more or less independent factors, one internal and the other external, which are, to varying degrees, behind the difficulties experienced by the national economy in general and the industrial sector in particular.
From another angle, the letter of CTVIE revealed that, compared to the years 2006-2007, the Tunisian industry lost in 2011 nearly 10 percentage points of growth. The average annual growth rate during the year 2011 is indeed negative at -3.84 % against 6.1 % during the period (2006-2007), according to the survey.
This significant loss of growth points is mainly due to the deteriorating domestic economic conditions. The latter, are indeed, 90% responsible for the decline observed while the international crisis was 75% responsible for this deterioration.
The survey also showed that the situation of the Tunisian industry in 2012 and 2013 was and would be a concern, although some improvements have been made compared to 2011.
Indeed, the development of industrial activity remains well below the one observed in 2006 and 2007.
On the other hand, with a relative contribution of 60% and 40%, the global economic crisis which is worsening and the internal difficulties that persist, would share more or less the responsibility behind this significant loss of points of growth compared to the situation of stability that had prevailed in 2006-2007.
