The prices of vegetables, fruit and meat (red and white) remain high in Tunisia, even after the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
During a visit to the central market in Tunis on Thursday 18th April, AfricanManager noticed that the upward trend in red meat prices is continuing. So much, so that the price has not fallen below 48 dinars.
Meanwhile, fish prices have continued to rise, following the example of sea bream, sea bass and red mullet.
Similarly, the price of a kilogram of chilli peppers fluctuated between 3,400 and 4 dinars, that of tomatoes was 2.5 dinars, while the price of a kilogram of onions reached 1,600 dinars.
On the other hand, the price of some fruits fell slightly, such as strawberries, which dropped by 3 dinars per kilo, while bananas reached 5 dinars (…).
According to Lotfi Riahi, president of the Tunisian Association for Consumer Information, meat is sold at exorbitant prices in other retail outlets, particularly butchers’ shops.
He also confirmed that the selling prices of several food products have reached record levels despite state intervention, stressing that prices have not fallen and remain at the same level as during the month of Ramadan.
Inflation falls to 7.5% in February
According to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the inflation rate reached 7.5%, compared with 7.8% in January of the same year.
This fall is explained by the deceleration of the price curve between February and January this year, compared with the same period last year.
Food prices rose by 10.2% year-on-year in February 2024, with notable increases in various categories such as coffee powder (+35%), sheepmeat (+22.5%), edible oils (+21.8%), condiments (+18.5%), fresh vegetables (+15.2%), beef (+12.2%), and fresh fish (+11.7%).
Manufactured goods also recorded a 7.4% rise in prices over the year, due in particular to higher prices for building materials (+4.7%), clothing (+10%) and household products (+9.7%).
Services saw prices rise by 5.4% year-on-year, mainly due to higher prices for restaurant, café and hotel services (+10.4%), financial services (+13.8%), and health services (+9.1%).
The core inflation rate, excluding food and energy, rose to 7% in February 2024, from 6.8% the previous month.
Prices for free products rose by 8.4% year-on-year, while prices for regulated products rose by 4.4%. Free food products rose by 11.2%, compared with 3.6% for food products with regulated prices.
Consumer prices rose by 0.2% in February 2024, mainly due to higher prices for food (+0.7%) and health services (+5.2%). However, there was a 4.5% fall in clothing prices due to the winter sales.
Food prices rose by 0.7% over one month, with notable increases in sheepmeat (+3.8%), beef (+1.6%), edible oils (+1.2%) and fresh vegetables (+0.9%), while fresh fruit prices fell by 1.1% and poultry by 0.9% (…).
