Record Harvest in Tunisia: Minister of Trade and Export Development Announces Success
The Minister of Trade and Export Development, Samir Abid, declared in a speech this morning during his supervision of the regional colloquium on the promotion of dates and olive oil in Douz, in the governorate of Kébili, that Tunisia has achieved a record harvest this year in oil, dates, and citrus fruits. This requires, according to him, the combination of all efforts to ensure the success of storage and promotion operations.
Importance of Promoting Dates and Olive Oil
The Minister emphasized the importance of working to strengthen the internal promotion of dates and olive oil, given their crucial economic and social position, in addition to the fact that these products are considered a distinctive label for Tunisia, particularly on global markets.
Date Harvest Reaches 400,000 Tonnes
The Regional Director of the Groupement professionnel commun des dattes (GIC Dattes) in Kébili, Iyadh Ben Hamad, revealed that the date harvest for this season has reached approximately 400,000 tonnes, with stable export quantities despite market fluctuations.
Proposals for Improvement
He indicated that the marketing and promotion committee of the GIC Dattes has presented several proposals, including:
- Adopting necessary measures to facilitate the transportation of dates from production areas to other governorates
- Facilitating storage operations for a period not exceeding 10 months to preserve the quality of the record harvest
- Intensifying promotional campaigns
- Facilitating financing for exporters
- Updating and activating the circular related to supporting the storage operation for small farmers
- Allocating quantities of dates at preferential prices for promotion through state employee associations and public enterprises to support domestic consumption
- Studying the possibility of granting compensation for date exports to the American market due to additional customs duties imposed on certain Tunisian products
Supporting Exporters
The President-Director General of the Centre de promotion des exportations (CEPEX), Mourad Ben Hassine, emphasized that the promotional colloquium for dates and olive oil aims to support businesses and follow global market trends to expand the export base. He also reviewed the interventions of the Export Promotion Fund and the financial support it provides to exporters, as well as the presentation of all promotional operations to which CEPEX has contributed, including supporting participation in international fairs and exhibitions, organizing business missions, and inviting foreign importers.
