The food trade balance showed a deficit of 251.7 mln dinar (€75.5 mln) during the first three months of 2021, against a surplus of 176.7 mln dinar during the same period of the previous year, the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI) said.
The coverage rate of imports by exports stands at 84.9% in 2021, against 113.5% in 2020. In value, food exports fell by 4.7%, while imports rose by 27.5%. The recorded deficit is the result of the increase in the pace of cereal imports by 31.9% on the one hand and the drop in olive oil exports by 14.3% and fish by 2.5% on the other, despite the increase in citrus fruit exports by 57.9% and tomatoes by 33.6%.
A considerable decline in imports of potatoes, meats and milk and by-products was recorded at the end of March 2021. ONAGRI recalled that the deficit of the country’s overall trade balance at the end of March 2021 decreased by 12.4% in 2021 compared to the previous year, i.e. a deficit of 3069.3 mln dinar, against 3505.7 mln dinar in 2020.
