Urgent Need for a Date Interprofessional Group in Tunisian Production Regions
In a context of worrying price fluctuations and increasing pressure on farmers, the demand for the creation of a date interprofessional group has become more urgent than ever in Tunisian production regions. Between speculation, the absence of an effective regulatory framework, and the fragility of harvests in the face of market fluctuations, producers, traders, and industrialists agree on the same necessity: that of establishing an institution capable of organizing the sector, protecting the harvest, and ensuring fair and transparent marketing of Tunisian dates, an economic emblem of the South.
The Press — Many farmers and stakeholders in the date sector are calling for the creation of a date group in production areas to organize the sector, protect the harvest, and put an end to the recurring problems that affect farmers and factory owners every season.
These calls are intensifying at a time when the sector is facing structural difficulties related to marketing, price fluctuations, and the spread of speculative practices.
According to sector professionals, the creation of such an organization will allow for the establishment of reference prices, regulation of supply, assurance of storage, conditioning, and marketing of dates in a consistent manner, while protecting farmers from losses and exploitation by certain intermediaries.
Tunisia, one of the largest date producers, suffers from the absence of an official structure responsible for framing the sector, unlike other countries that have created similar institutions that have contributed to improving the quality of their products and strengthening their presence on international markets.
Representatives of agricultural organizations indicate that production regions — particularly Kébili, Tozeur, and Gabès — urgently need such an institution to preserve the added value of the sector, protect farmers, and ensure better management of national production, most of which is intended for export.
They affirm that the establishment of a date office will enable the fight against uncontrolled price fluctuations, reduce losses recorded each season, and strengthen the competitiveness of the Tunisian product, while supporting economic development policies in the southern regions.
Farmers face a drop in prices and intermediaries who take advantage of the situation every year. The absence of an official regulatory structure leaves the sector exposed to disorder and speculation. To preserve the harvest and protect farmers, traders, and factory owners, the creation of a date office in production areas has become an urgent necessity. Sector actors are calling on the government to accelerate the adoption of this initiative, considered an essential mechanism for preserving the harvest, protecting small producers, and ensuring organized and sustainable marketing of Tunisian dates.
