After the summer in Tunisia which saw drought ravage Tunisian tomato growers, causing the destruction of nearly half the volume of tomatoes the situation continues to become more complex in the present fall cycle.

Selmi Mohameddhia who is an Tunisian Agronomist, has told FreshPlaza, “Following reduced volumes this summer and appealing prices, many cultivators turned to tomato production this fall. We’ve also had higher temperatures than normal. The result was a faster growth of tomatoes in specific regions. This meant that a lot of quantity ended up being sold on the market. “There is a time period of 3 months between the harvests.”

“What’s plus is that the stipulation of Tunisian exports for Libya is in force in place, as well as a market that takes in large amounts of Tunisian tomatoes. This means that the market in Tunisia has been flooded with plenty of tomatoes, and the prices have dropped from 1 dinar for a kilogram in the summer of 2013 up to 0.1 dinar per kilogram at present (growers have price).” 1 Tunisian dinar = 0.3 EUR.

The drought and the acute stress on water caused water stress and drought. This prompted for the Tunisian government to block exports of some crop varieties that were deemed important or strategic like tomatoes, consequently affecting the Libyan market that is heavily dependent in Tunisian tomatoes.

More information is available here:

Selmi Mohameddhia

Tel: +216 96 711 802

Email: dhiaselmi2018@gmail.com