At a press briefing held at the Prime Ministry, Lotfi Khedhr, Director of the Foreign Trade Observatory (OCE) reviewed the development of trade in the first two months of 2012.
Exports reached 4,095 MTD and imports totaled 5,727.8MD. They have increased by 10.7% and 25.3%, respectively, he said.
For exports, they are seen as signs of an improvement in production and investment in the next period. Imports have increased in many areas: agricultural products and basic food (34.9%), energy (32.3%), mining (17.87%), raw materials and semi-manufactured products (21.4 %) and household appliances (22.3%).
During the same period, the trade balance recorded a deficit of 1,632.8 MTD, with an increase in the deficit of 761, 1 MTD. The coverage rate reached 71.5% down from 80.9% previously.
Nevertheless, Abdellatif Hamam, Director General of the Tunisian Exports Promotion Centre, showed optimism for 2012. “The country has enough chances to accelerate the pace of growth of exports in the coming months,” he said.
Note in this context that Tunisia has increased its trade with 10 major international markets: Libya, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania and Ethiopia.
“It’s time to network and to join forces so as to ensure the prosperity and sustainability of the company. He said exports remain the main driver of economic growth in Tunisia. Hence, CEPEX would logically be at the forefront of the battle for a more sustainable economic growth. It is therefore important to show that Tunisian exporters and government institutions and agencies of support to exports function and be operational and innovative by providing solutions.”
With regard to administrative facilitation procedures for investors in Tunisia, he stressed the need to revise these procedures to create an innovative strategy that allows investors to work in a good and appropriate climate.
For his part, the representative of the Ministry of Health said that about 40,000 free health care cards will be added to the existing 205,000 cards and 575,000 reduced health fee cards have been prepared by the Department.
Regarding the issue of the wounded of the Revolution, he reminded that special committees have been established to follow up this case.
