Supply/Demand Basics
- 977 TMT corn imports and 300 TMT barley imports in MY 2019/2020.
- 15 TMT of DDGS imports in 2019 from the U.S. but no imports in 2020.
- Tunisia aquaculture industry has started importing U.S. corn gluten meal.
- Price sensitive market with less emphasis on quality.
Country Overview
- Tunisia’s progress since the revolution in 2011 makes it an important partner in the region.
- In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the economic environment.
- The Tunisian Dinar has stabilized against the U.S. dollar.
- Inflation rate in Tunisia dropped to 5.7% in 2020 versus 6.7% in 2019 and 7.5% in 2018.
Trade and Market Share Overview
- USGC office for the MEA region is currently located in Tunisia.
- The feed grains supply dropped by 10% compared to the previous year mainly due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the lack of tourists and the fall of poultry meat demand by 20%.
- In 2020, barley imports were cut in half due to good rains in the previous year. The Black Sea and France are the main exporters of barley to Tunisia.
- In 2020, corn imports were from the Black Sea 54%, the U.S. 16%, Argentina 15%, Brazil 7%, and Romania 5%.
- In 2020, compound feed prices were steady despite the pandemic outbreak. Since October, prices began to rise dramatically due to the high level of imported feed grains.
Policy Overview
- There is no import duty on all feed grains except a 2.5% duty on corn, sorghum and SBM.
- The US Senate adopted, on February 27, a resolution which plans to establish a dialogue between the United States of America and Tunisia to conclude a free trade agreement. No further progress has been made to date.
