Tunisian Trade Minister Explains Price Hikes for Certain Products

Tunisian Trade Minister Samir Obaid recently addressed the issue of rising prices for certain products in the country. He stated that his ministry has achieved satisfactory results for some goods, but more work is needed to improve the situation for others. Obaid explained that the ministry has increased the supply of chicken meat to 16,000 tons and eggs to 160 million units to meet growing demand.

The minister attributed the high prices of tomatoes to a decline in production due to hot weather. He emphasized the need for better distribution of products to prevent them from being lost in the market. Obaid also mentioned that preparations for the upcoming Eid al-Adha are underway in collaboration with relevant authorities. He assured that the prices of basic goods have been stabilized and capped, with no increases.

Obaid explained that the current price hikes are largely due to the seasonal gap between harvests, resulting in a shortage of national production. He noted that stockpiles have improved recently, but some products, such as red tea, are in short supply in several regions. The minister reported that the current stockpile of sugar covers about five months of consumption, with approximately 130,000 tons available.

The minister also discussed the challenges faced by the Tunisian Trade Office, which relies on its own resources and outdated equipment, including a single rice canning machine that was previously used for tea. Obaid mentioned that the country's trade deficit has reached around 21 billion dinars during the first nine months of the current year, with the energy deficit accounting for slightly over half of this amount.

In the area of economic monitoring, Obaid reported that the ministry has filed five cases with the Competition Council, in addition to 11 cases handled by the council. The ministry has also started implementing six decisions, with fines totaling 3.9 million dinars. Obaid stated that over 507,000 inspection operations were carried out during the first 10 months of the year, resulting in over 86,000 economic violations.

The minister emphasized that all ministry officials are committed to serving the country and called on parliamentarians to support them, particularly in the regions, to achieve common goals such as protecting citizens' purchasing power. Obaid noted that improving the situation will not happen overnight. He also mentioned that the 2027 budget allocations for his ministry have been set at 4,223.63 million dinars, representing about 6.2% of the state's budget.

The budget for 2027 has decreased by 0.6% compared to 2026, when it was 4,260 million dinars. Obaid expressed his commitment to working with parliamentarians to address the challenges facing the country, particularly in terms of economic monitoring and trade.

Key points

• The Tunisian government has taken steps to address the rising prices of certain products, including increasing the supply of essential goods and imposing price caps.