Sacrificial Sheep Sales Continue Amid Price Hike Controversy in Ben Arous

As the Aïd Al-Adha holiday approaches, sacrificial sheep sales are underway in various markets across the Ben Arous governorate, including public squares, residential areas, and major intersections. However, the activity is taking place amidst a heated debate over the surge in sheep prices, which has significantly impacted the usual sales pace.

Despite a strong turnout and a noticeable imbalance between supply and demand, the only market selling sheep by the kilogram, located on Hédi Nouira Avenue in Radès, near the port, continues to offer limited quantities of ovines. Several citizens interviewed by TAP News Agency confirmed visiting the market multiple times in hopes of purchasing a sacrificial sheep, after discovering the prices being charged at other markets, both organized and informal, to be excessive.

Anis Souissi, General Director of the Groupement Interprofessionnel des Viandes Rouges et du Lait (GIVLait), attributed the imbalance between supply and demand to the impossibility of meeting the high and growing daily demand at the reference market, which is being offered at prices comparable to those of other markets. He added that, despite the commitment of public suppliers, including the Office des Terres Domaniales (OTD), the Office de l'Élevage et des Pâturages (OEP), and agricultural cooperative production units, to regularly supply the market, "the demand remains so high that it is impossible to satisfy all buyers."

Souissi also estimated that the price hike in parallel markets has driven many citizens to seek out organized and reference markets, creating a supply-demand imbalance and encouraging breeders and producers to sell their sheep in parallel markets rather than honoring their commitments to organized markets.

During a tour of several markets in Radès, Boumhel, and Mornag on Thursday, commercial activity appeared weak, with nearly empty spaces and few customers. Several individuals interviewed by TAP News Agency attributed this situation to "the surge in sheep prices and the deterioration of citizens' purchasing power."

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