The coverage rate of Tunisia’s food trade balance has declined to 65.9% at the end of May 2022, from 75.2% at the end of May 2021, losing more than 9 points, according to statistics published y the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI).
In this regard, the deficit of the food trade balance has almost doubled between the two periods, widening at the end of May 2022, to 1,368.4 MD against a deficit of 688.3 MD during the same period of the previous year.
The deficit recorded is due particularly to the increase in the pace of grain imports (+41.8%), not to mention the prices of sugar and vegetable oils, which have climbed 61.1% and 60.3%, respectively, according to ONAGRI.
Grain import prices went up (+91.6%) for durum wheat, (+56.4%) for barley, (+55.7%) for soft wheat and (+38.0%) for corn.
This increase is mainly related to the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to ONAGRI.
The share of the food trade deficit in the overall trade deficit increased by 2.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year from 11.6% to 13.8%.
In terms of value, Tunisia’s food exports recorded rose 27.0% during the first five months of 2022, while imports grew 44.7%.
Export prices saw an increase of 29.7% for olive oil and 12.2% for citrus fruits during this period, compared to the same period last year.
However, those of tomatoes, dates and fisheries products have declined 5.7%, 3.6% and 0.6%, respectively.
