The trade balance of fishery and aquaculture products recorded a surplus of 202.6 million dinars (MD), at the end of November 2020, down compared to the same period in 2019 (209.6 MD).
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, exports of fishery products fell from 25.7 thousand tons to 20.8 thousand tons between 2019 and 2020 (11 months).
In value, exports dropped to 439.6 MD (against 516 MD in November 2019), due to lower export prices, resulting from reduced demand during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Agriculture has reported a drop in the exported quantities of octopus, squid, crabs, canned tuna and sardine.
On the other hand, exports of fresh Bluefin tuna edged up 43.3% in volume and 8.47% in value.
As for imports, they declined in quantity by 20% to 53.1 thousand tons and in value by 28% to 237 MD, in view of the drop in imports of frozen tuna for processing and molluscs.
Fishing and aquaculture production stood at 111 thousand tons, at end November 2020, compared with 139 thousand tons during the same period in 2019.
