ANALYSIS – The Maghreb country imports half of its wheat from the conflict zone while price controls discourage local farmers.
Tunisia
Empty shelves, long queues, bakeries closed in the afternoon and the D system without flour with “mlawi” (semolina) or bran bread: for several days, Tunisians have been running after bread, couscous and other basic products. The causes are multiple, but the war in Ukraine – a major grain exporter – could deliver the final blow.
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“We produce around 50% of our wheat needs. And 45-50% of our imports come from Ukraineexplains Karim Daoud, president of the agricultural union Synagri. These figures vary from year to year depending on our harvests.” Tunisia has an average productivity of 11 to 15 quintals per hectare (against 70 in Europe) and suffers fromchronic problems» according to Karim Daoud. While costs are soaring, the capped prices of the State, which has a monopoly on the purchase of cereal products, discourage farmers. Soil erosion and salinization have caused the country to lose 300,000 hectares of crops. Drought…
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