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The Vice-President of the Professional Grouping of Coffee Roasters, Wafa Attaoui, stated on Tuesday that "60% of the coffee present on the Tunisian market comes from smuggling and escapes any sanitary control, which poses a serious problem for active roasting companies in Tunisia". Invited to the "Sabah El Ward" show on Jawhara FM, Ms. Attaoui specified that "the number of roasting companies stands at 286 enterprises". She recalled that these companies supply themselves from the Tunisian Trade Office (OTC), which is the only legal importer of this raw material.
A Drastic Decline in Official Sales
Ms. Attaoui revealed alarming figures: "The Office used to sell between 2,300 and 2,500 tons per month, whereas it now only sells 900 tons". She emphasized that the dominance of smuggled coffee on the market has led to the definitive closure of several companies in the sector, while others are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Illegal Sales on Social Media
The Vice-President of the grouping also drew attention to the methods of the traffickers: "Smugglers supply themselves with subsidized coffee in neighboring countries, then resell it in Tunisia openly via social media, at derisory prices and without any invoicing".
