Tunisia : a good 2012 agriculture season
Tunisian Date Exporters Enjoy Best Season in Five Years (1)
According to the most recently released statistics, Tunisian date growers are experiencing their best season of the past five years.
“The growth has been constant, and demand [for Tunisian dates] is increasing worldwide,” said Hachmi Ben Aissa, a financial officer at Boudjebel, a date exporter and packer.
TAP reported that between October 1, 2011, and August 15, 2012, more than 90,000 tons of Tunisian dates have been exported – worth some 310.4 million dinars ($194.6 million). According to the same source, this comes as an improvement from the previous season, which saw 78,392 tons of exported dates, valued at 271.7 million dinars. Ben Aissa noted that 20 years ago the volume of exported dates came to about 30,000 tons – a third of what it is today.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this growth in date exports is due to increases in the volume sent to Indonesia and Malaysia, which increased by 36% and 50% respectively from the previous season. Exports to the Maghreb region also rose this season by 7,500 tons.
Ben Aissa said that Boudjebel has experienced rising demand from its predominantly European clientele, and added that 15% of the company’s exported dates are destined for Spain.
The ministry also pointed to a 9% increase in the exportation of Deglet Nour, one of the varieties of dates grown in Tunisia, from the last season. Tunisia and Algeria are the only two countries that export dates still on the branches they grew on. Such dates also saw a 9% growth.
When asked about other reasons for the increase in the exportation of dates, Ben Aissa claimed that Tunisia has improved its processing, storage, and packaging facilities, which have allowed the country to meet growing international demand, and is marketing Tunisian dates abroad more effectively.
Tunisia is ranked first in terms of the value of its exported dates, and exports to 65 countries worldwide.
Tunisia’s cereal production (2)
On May 14, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture issued its estimate of total grain (wheat and barley) production for the 2011/2012 campaign, indicating it could exceed 2.5 million MT. This production level would be about 8 percent higher than productions in the previous year, and about 50 percent higher than average production in the last 10 years. Area planted with cereal in the 2011/12 season was about 10 percent lower than the area planted last year, mostly because of the flooding of some fields and the loss of about 150,000 HA of seeded area. Despite the decline in the area planted this year, the average yield is projected to be higher than last year due to sufficient rainfall and favorable weather conditions throughout the various stages of the cereal crops. The Ministry of Agriculture’s statement did not provide a breakdown of total cereal production projected this year. In 2010/11, cereal production totaled 2.3 million MT and consisted of 1.32 million MT of durum wheat, 280,000 MT of soft wheat, and 700,000 MT of barley.
(1) Houda Mzioudet contributed to reporting
http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/08/28/tunisian-date-exporters-enjoy-best-season-in-five-years/
(2) Youssef Chahed, Agricultural Specialist
http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/2012%20Grain%20and%20Feed%20Update_Tunis_Tunisia_5-18-2012.pdf
According to the most recently released statistics, Tunisian date growers are experiencing their best season of the past five years.
“The growth has been constant, and demand [for Tunisian dates] is increasing worldwide,” said Hachmi Ben Aissa, a financial officer at Boudjebel, a date exporter and packer.
TAP reported that between October 1, 2011, and August 15, 2012, more than 90,000 tons of Tunisian dates have been exported – worth some 310.4 million dinars ($194.6 million). According to the same source, this comes as an improvement from the previous season, which saw 78,392 tons of exported dates, valued at 271.7 million dinars. Ben Aissa noted that 20 years ago the volume of exported dates came to about 30,000 tons – a third of what it is today.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this growth in date exports is due to increases in the volume sent to Indonesia and Malaysia, which increased by 36% and 50% respectively from the previous season. Exports to the Maghreb region also rose this season by 7,500 tons.
Ben Aissa said that Boudjebel has experienced rising demand from its predominantly European clientele, and added that 15% of the company’s exported dates are destined for Spain.
The ministry also pointed to a 9% increase in the exportation of Deglet Nour, one of the varieties of dates grown in Tunisia, from the last season. Tunisia and Algeria are the only two countries that export dates still on the branches they grew on. Such dates also saw a 9% growth.
When asked about other reasons for the increase in the exportation of dates, Ben Aissa claimed that Tunisia has improved its processing, storage, and packaging facilities, which have allowed the country to meet growing international demand, and is marketing Tunisian dates abroad more effectively.
Tunisia is ranked first in terms of the value of its exported dates, and exports to 65 countries worldwide.
Tunisia’s cereal production (2)
On May 14, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture issued its estimate of total grain (wheat and barley) production for the 2011/2012 campaign, indicating it could exceed 2.5 million MT. This production level would be about 8 percent higher than productions in the previous year, and about 50 percent higher than average production in the last 10 years. Area planted with cereal in the 2011/12 season was about 10 percent lower than the area planted last year, mostly because of the flooding of some fields and the loss of about 150,000 HA of seeded area. Despite the decline in the area planted this year, the average yield is projected to be higher than last year due to sufficient rainfall and favorable weather conditions throughout the various stages of the cereal crops. The Ministry of Agriculture’s statement did not provide a breakdown of total cereal production projected this year. In 2010/11, cereal production totaled 2.3 million MT and consisted of 1.32 million MT of durum wheat, 280,000 MT of soft wheat, and 700,000 MT of barley.
(1) Houda Mzioudet contributed to reporting
http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/08/28/tunisian-date-exporters-enjoy-best-season-in-five-years/
(2) Youssef Chahed, Agricultural Specialist
http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/2012%20Grain%20and%20Feed%20Update_Tunis_Tunisia_5-18-2012.pdf
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