The food trade balance recorded a deficit of 678.8 million dinars at the end of November 2020, compared to 1,423.1 million dinars during the same period in 2019, according to data published by the National Observatory of Agriculture (Onagri).
The coverage rate reached 86.7% in 2020 against 72.7% in 2019.
This narrowing of the deficit is due to the drop in import on the one hand and the increase in olive oil exports in value (+76.3%), on the other hand, despite lower exports of citrus fruits (-43.7%), sea products (-15.8%) and dates (-6.4%).
Food exports grew 16.3% in value.
The quantity of olive oil exported exceeded projections, reaching about 376 thousand tons during the 2019/2020 season.
The export prices for olive oil saw a decrease in November.
Imports went down 2.4% in value. They accounted for 10.9% of the overall exports in November 2020.
