São Paulo – Olive oil and fisheries were some of the leading exports from Tunisia in February and coupled with lower imports drove up the trade balance surplus. Figures advanced by the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI, acronym in French) and reported by TAP state news agency show a surplus of TND 871.3 million (USD 281.3 million) compared to TND 1.1 million (USD 355,400) in February 2023. (Pictured, woman harvesting olives in Ariana, Tunisia.)
Food exports jumped 59.5% in value at the end of February 2024 compared with the same month last year, amounting to TND 2.057 billion (USD 664.3 million). Olive oil exports grew at 99.5% in value, to TND 1.324 billion (USD 427.5 million). In volume, 48,300 tonnes were exported, up 10.8%, The average price of the exported olive oil was TND 27.4 per kilo (USD 8.8), up 80% from February 2023.
Fisheries also grew, by 62.9% in value to TND 125.5 million (USD 40.5 million) and 12.5 in volume to 5,000 tonnes. Leading food items exported by Tunisia are olive oil, dates, and fisheries.
On the other hand, TND 1.186 billion (USD 383 million) worth in food products were imported, dropping 8% compared to February last year. Grain import prices fell 15.8% for durum wheat, 26.7% for soft wheat, 34.4% for barley and 23.8% for maize. The same pattern was observed for vegetable oils (-23.0%) and milk and by-products (-8.2%); a 29.4% rise was reported for sugar.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
