2012.01.03Tunisia: improving the coverage of foreign trade

Despite difficult economic conditions, indicators of foreign trade of Tunisia is improved by one point, the coverage of imports by exports compared to 2010.

It (the coverage) rose from 73.3% to 74.4% over the past year, according to statistics released recently by the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism.

However, statistics from the Commerce Department show that the trade deficit worsened for the first time since the beginning of this year. The rate of this deficit is estimated at 1.6%, equivalent to 122.4 MD. Compared to 2010, its value has increased from 7705.7 in 2010 to 7828.1 MD MD.

The increase in the trade deficit is attributable, according to the Ministry of Commerce, the increase in the deficit in energy products whose value is estimated at 695.1 MD, and this because of the decline in export volumes of 23.9% .

There is also talk of a deficit in groups of raw materials and semi-charged (543.9 R) and regression of the export volume of phosphate (-45.3%).

The origin of this increase in the deficit figure as the increase in the deficit in food (MD 168.3) due to higher import prices (40.5%).

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the current business environment is also marked by a slowdown in the pace of export growth compared to the results recorded in the first half.

The slowdown in the pace has increased from 13.8% (first half) to 7.3%, affected all sectors without exception.

In lighter, trade between Tunisia and outside recorded until the end of November, an increase of 7.3% in exports and 5.8% for import from the same period of 2010 (11 months).

In millions of dinars, the value of exports reached 22,767.8 MD and imports stood at 30 596 MD.

With regard to reducing the volume of exports of 30%, the Commerce Department said that this decline has q concerned, in particular, exports of phosphates and derivatives (-45.3%), miscellaneous industries (37, 1%) which mainly cement (-617 600 tonnes).

The ministry reported a decline in imports of raw materials (-21.2%) and equipment products (-7.8%), attributing this decline to the rise in import prices of food (40.5%), raw materials and semi-billed (37%) and energy products (35.2%).

Source: espacemanager.com

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