The 2017/2018 season will register a new record for date sub-sector in Tunisia. Fruit production is expected to reach 305.251 tonnes i.e. a 26.3% jump compared to 2016/2017, according to Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fishery Samir Taieb.
This exceptional harvest will allow the country to improve its status in the top 20 of the world’s fruit suppliers, dominated by Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Besides, the Minister said that many actions will have to be taken in the export segment to secure the main outlets, especially Morocco (30% of the country’s date shipments), in a context of a growing competition.
Taieb also stressed the need “to respect the sanitary conditions, to follow up the processing operations, as well as packaging in plastic crates”.
Dates are mainly produced in the North and South of Tunisia. The country has already exported in 2016/2017 (from 1 October 2016 to 30 September), more than 109, 800 tonnes of dates, with a foreign currency earnings of 569.3 million dinars.
TunisianMonitorOnline (MNHN)
translated from Plumes Economique
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