Tunisia Economic Forum: Study Reveals Roadmap to Overhaul Agricultural Distribution Circuits
At the 10th edition of the Tunisia Economic Forum, a comprehensive study was unveiled by the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (IACE). The study's author, consultant Ahmed Ben Kheder, presented a roadmap aimed at revolutionizing the architecture of agricultural distribution circuits in Tunisia. The goal is to rebalance supply and demand, curb price distortions, and restore competitiveness to the agricultural sector.
Three Strategic Pillars and a Customized Financing Framework
The study proposes three strategic pillars, accompanied by a tailored financing framework, to achieve this ambitious goal. The pillars are:
- Professionalization of Market Management: This involves creating specialized agencies and hiring qualified managers, either through private delegation or municipal management. A unified and simplified code of commercial circuits will replace the current fragmented and outdated texts. Contracts of concession will be extended to secure investment and ensure quality services and infrastructure maintenance.
- Attracting Quality Investments and Valuing Products: This pillar aims to abandon the sole financial criterion and adopt a selection based on service quality, with long-term contracts allowing for amortization. A reference document will serve as a normative framework for tenders. To integrate informal players, Ben Kheder proposes registering intermediaries, issuing professional cards with fiscal and social incentives, and limiting their role to procurement and transportation under regulatory control. Pre-contractual agreements between producers and buyers will be established to fix prices, volumes, and deadlines.
- Better Coordination between Central and Local Levels: This transversal pillar seeks to clarify attributions and establish a coherent legal framework. To shorten the value chain, digital solutions are proposed, including a national unified platform for tracking and electronic invoicing (e-market), a national network of collection and refrigeration centers, urban "Farm Markets," and integrated transformation units at wholesale markets to reduce waste, with a goal of "zero loss."
Specialized Wholesale Markets by Sector
Ben Kheder advocates for creating wholesale markets dedicated to each sector: red meats, white meats, and seafood. This specialization would improve sanitary conditions, enhance traceability, and professionalize the entire logistics chain.
Financing the Program
To fund this extensive program, Ben Kheder proposes creating a national fund supported by contributions from operators, calculated based on treated volumes, not product value, to avoid price inflation. This fund will be linked to a permanent management unit responsible for continuous monitoring of infrastructure quality and sustainability. He also recommends relaunching small businesses alongside existing operators to stimulate competition and improve service quality.
Expected Economic and Social Impacts
According to the study, which relies on data from the Tunisian Wholesale Markets Society (SOTUMAG) and the National Institute of Statistics (INS), reforming distribution circuits will enable the state to increase its tax revenues, ensure real-time tracking of exchanges, and combat speculation more effectively. From a social perspective, farmers will see their incomes rise due to the elimination of unnecessary intermediaries. Consumers will benefit from lower prices and strengthened guarantees on food safety and quality. The study also forecasts a significant reduction in food waste, improved profitability of logistics investments, and a decline in corruption and regional inequalities.
Implementation Timeline
The roadmap spans five years, with a launch phase (2026-2027) dedicated to drafting the government decree governing new management formulas, activating a support fund for entrepreneurs, launching the national digital platform for prices, and creating two regional pilot societies for governance. The deployment phase (2028-2030) will involve rehabilitating five wholesale markets and two abattoirs to international standards, revising the competition regulatory framework, and deploying the national digital platform for matchmaking. The study's conclusions will be formalized in a reference document, to be disseminated after the forum's works.
