Tunisia’s fruit exports have declined by 18% in value and 44% in volume from the start of the year to November 20, 2023.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the value of Tunisian fruit exports stands at TND 142.2 million, down from TND 173.8 million for the same period last year.
The quantities exported have also fallen, from 67,500 tons in 2022 to 37,900 tons this year. This decrease is attributed to the rise in production costs in Tunisia, in particular the increase in prices and the impact of climatic factors on production.
The Ministry of Agriculture has introduced measures to rationalize water use, particularly in the cultivation of water-intensive fruits such as melons and watermelons.
As far as the destinations for Tunisian fruit exports are concerned, Libya maintains its position at the top with 30,700 tons worth TND 105.6 million up to November 20, compared with 57,300 tons worth TND 126,700 million for the same period in 2022.
The United Arab Emirates ranked second in terms of export value, with TND 11.5 million for 778 tons, followed by Italy in third place with TND 10.2 million for more than 4,800 tons.
On the other hand, the value of fruit exports to Italy fell from TND 5.2 to TND 3.6 million dinars between November 2022 and 2023, due to lower quantities from 422 to 257 tons.
The statistics also show that there were no exports to Algeria, Romania, Côte’ d’Ivoire and Norway during the first 11 months of this year, after exporting quantities to these markets the previous year.
As for the main varieties of fruit exported up to November this year, peaches are in first place, with sales of 9,889 tons worth around TND 37 million, followed by apricots with 8,378 tons worth TND 25.6 million, then plums with 4,171 tons worth TND 14.9 million.
