Coffee Industry in Tunisia: Challenges and Proposed Solutions
Aslan Berjeb, President of the Conect, emphasized the importance of coffee in Tunisian daily life, stating that it is not just a beverage, but an integral part of their daily routines, homes, and discussions. However, the coffee industry continues to face significant challenges, including:
- Monopoly on imports
- Administered prices that freeze supply
- Recurring shortages
- A thriving black market that undermines fair competition and consumer safety
Berjeb announced the creation of the Coffee Roasters Group within the Conect, congratulating its president, Lahmar Jasser, and the executive board. He stressed that it is time to change the approach to addressing these challenges, moving away from temporary solutions and instead tackling the root causes.
The proposed solutions include:
- Opening up green coffee imports to more private actors, with strict rules on traceability, quality, and sanitary control
- Allowing the sale of green coffee between roasters to give the market more flexibility and enable smaller players to access raw materials
- Establishing a single digital platform to track flows, combat counterfeiting, and ensure equal access
- Implementing a data-driven governance system, providing transparency on volumes, visibility on import schedules, and anti-speculation mechanisms
- Creating a framework for state-profession consultation to guide this transition and protect the public interest
Berjeb emphasized that the Conect's goal is to promote freedom of enterprise and transparent rules, liberalizing the market without deregulating it, and instead empowering actors, strengthening controls, and cutting off oxygen to the black market.
Economic Growth and Challenges in Tunisia
Moez Hadidane, a financial analyst, commented on the government's projected growth rate of 3.3% for 2026, stating that it is ambitious but achievable if favorable economic conditions are met. The realization of this goal depends largely on the performance of the agricultural and tourism sectors, as well as improvements in other sectors such as mining and energy.
However, Hadidane noted that the Tunisian economy needs a growth rate of 5-6% to absorb unemployment and overcome the financial difficulties faced by businesses. He suggested that the state should take courageous and painful decisions, such as:
- Reforming public enterprises
- Gradually reducing subsidies and reorienting them towards investment
- Controlling the wage bill by linking it to productivity
These measures could have a positive impact on the national economy over the next three years. Regarding the assumptions of the economic balance project, Hadidane considered the estimated price of a barrel of Brent crude oil at $63.3 to be realistic, despite strong competition between Gulf countries and the United States, and the slowdown in global growth, as international economic pressures tend to limit the rise in oil prices.
