Day: February 28, 2024

Ten Tunisian companies producing and exporting packaged extra virgin olive oil won awards at the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, announced the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. Tunisian packaged extra virgin olive oil bagged 211 medals in the various international competitions organised in Europe, the United States and Asia over the whole year 2023, 300 medals in 2022 and 214 in 2021, positioning Tunisia among the top 10 countries in this sector. These international awards will help raise the profile of packaged olive oil among decision-makers in the sector, specialists, buyers and consumers. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Water stock in dams reached 813 million cubic metres (m3) by February 28, 2024, including 755 million m3 from dams in the North, said Managing Director of Rural Engineering and Water Exploitation Abdelhamid Mnajja. Speaking at the regular press conference held on Wednesday at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, he pointed out that the water stock (813 million m3), recorded for the first time in three years thanks to the latest rainfall, account for only 35.1% of storage capacity and a fill rate of 22%. The official recalled that at the end of November 2023, water stock had totalled 512 million m3, up by 94 million m3 compared with the same date last year. However, the water stock is still below the average recorded over the last three years, by 182 million m3. For the current season, water inflows to dams stood at 493 million m3, i.e. 40% of the average inflow for the same period, given the drought and rainfall deficit registered during the autumn season. Compared with the same pe riod in 2023, these inflows are up by 220 million m3. Nonetheless, water inflows to some of the main dams, such as those at Al Harka, Sejnane and Ziatine in the north, remain low. The situation at the Nebhana dam in the centre, which supplies drinking water and irrigation water for 5 governorates, calls for a specific action programme to resolve the water shortage and meet needs, the official pointed out. "Faced with this situation, we need to be more vigilant, as studies show that the future will be more difficult, notably with the succession of years of drought," he concluded. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Export earnings from Maltese oranges, olive oil and dates have reached nearly TND 2,146 million since the start of the 2023-2024 agricultural season, said Dorsaf Ben Ahmed, representative of the Directorate General of Agricultural Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries. Speaking at a press conference organised by this department in Tunis on Wednesday, she said that Tunisia has exported 4,680 tonnes of Maltese oranges worth TND 18 million since the beginning of the season. Citrus exports continue, she pointed out, adding that national production is estimated at 365,000 tonnes, including 90,000 tonnes of Maltese oranges. Ben Ahmed also said that 61,506 tonnes of olive oil have been exported so far, with a value of TND 1,590 million, adding that the price of exported olive oil has reached 26 dinars/kg. Domestic production for this season is estimated at 1.1 million tonnes of olives and 220,000 tonnes of olive oil. Since the start of the season, Tunisia has also exported 81, 750 tonnes of dates, worth 538 million dinars, she said, adding that date production had increased by 14.4% compared to the previous season to 390,000 tonnes, including 328,000 tonnes of the Deglet Nour variety. Regarding the 2024 crop season, Ben Ahmed said that the area sown so far has reached 971,000 hectares (81% of the planned area), an increase of 4% compared to the 2023 season (967,000 hectares). She added that the sown areas are divided into 576,000 hectares of durum wheat (93% progress rate), 24,000 hectares of soft wheat (53%), 362,000 hectares of barley (70%) and 86,000 hectares of triticale (89%). With regard to the chemical fertiliser distribution programme, she announced the availability of 80,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate - DAP -, (53% of planned quantities), 135,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate (56%) and 16.5,000 tonnes of Super 45 (55% of planned quantities). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Employment and Vocational Training Ministry intends to put in place new procedures conducive to self-employment, said Director of Employment Promotion at the ministry Fayza Kallel. This includes a flat-rate taxation scheme (TND 100 to TND 200/year) and exemption from paying social insurance contributions as well as taxes in the first year of activity. The announcement was made at an information day held Wednesday by the Challenge Fund For Youth Employment (CFYE) on patterns of self-employment. The CFYE is a 7-year programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These measures are aimed to ease the launch of projects and adopt a remote payment mechanism via an electronic platform. The ministry seeks to foster the creation of enterprises by means of instituting incentices for entrepreneurs. These enterprises have to respond to social needs and contribute to cutting the unemployment rate. New mechanisms were put in place as part of training programmes which helped provide tailored trai ning, Fayza Kallel said. The ministry developed new training programmes in full harmony with the needs of the job market and the needs of trainees. The vocational training system provides a high employment potential, she added. The unemployment rate is higher among higher education graduates (nearly 20%), particularly inland. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Tunindex, the benchmark index of the Tunis Stock Exchange, resumed is upward trend on Wednesday, closing the session up 0.56% at 8,615.19 points, on a modest volume of TND 3.4 million, reported stock market broker Tunisie Valeurs. GIF was the session's best performer. The filter specialist's shares closed up 4.4% at TND 0.470, generating a cash flow of TND 6,000. AMEN BANK shares ended the session on an optimistic note. The private bank's shares rose by 3.6% to TND 34.200 on a volume of TND 200,000 BIAT shares led the charts. Closing the day up 1.1% at TND 5.300, the private bank's shares fed the market with capital worth TND 826,000 or 25% of the market's flow. BEST LEASE shares were the biggest losers of the session. On a low trading volume of 2,000 dinars, the leasing company's shares fell by 3.9% to TND 2.240. SIAME shares were among the biggest losers of the session. The company's shares fell by 2.5% to TND 3.560. Only TND 55,000 were traded during the session Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Pres se

The Export Promotion Centre (CEPEX) is coordinating the participation of Tunisian enterprises in the "Libya Build" Expo, scheduled to take place at the Tripoli International Fairground in Libya from April 29 to May 2, 2024. This significant international event is dedicated to all stakeholders in the construction sector (architecture, engineering, construction, civil engineering, environment...), as well as interior design and decoration. Tunisian companies wishing to partake in this event within the National Pavilion are invited to submit their participation forms through the E-CEPEX platform no later than March 7, 2024. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The 40th edition of the Craft Creation Fair will take place from May 24 to June 2, 2024 at the Kram Exhibition Centre in Tunis, the Tunisian National Office of Handicrafts announced on Wednesday. The fair, which was originally scheduled to run from March 1 to 10, 2024, has been postponed due to ongoing maintenance work at the Kram centre. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Tunisian Post will issue a stamp on Thursday with the theme "For a Free Palestine", in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against the Zionist occupation. The stamp will be available at all post offices and online from February 29, the Tunisian Post Office said in a press release on Wednesday. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging the use of treated water to irrigate summer fodder crops and green areas in order to ensure a regular water supply during the summer of 2024, the peak consumption period, Abdelhamid Mnajja, director general of rural engineering and water exploitation, said on Wednesday. Speaking to journalists at a regular press conference in Tunis, Mnajja added that the ministry would also raise farmers' awareness of the need to use water reserves in dams to irrigate fruit trees, grain and fodder. Other measures planned to promote the rational use of water resources include the continued application of the cyclical quota system and the prohibition of certain water uses, as well as the fight against illegal drilling and connection to the network, in addition to guaranteeing the supply of drinking water to sensitive institutions. "To this end, the Ministry plans to implement 115 new water supply projects by 2024, benefiting 150,000 people in the regions of Kasserine, Gafsa, Sidi Bo uzid, El Kef and Siliana. 92 projects are in the implementation phase, while tenders are underway for the rest," the official added. These projects are part of a plan for 239 water systems programmed since 2016, benefiting 286,000 inhabitants. Of these, 97 systems are in a state of disruption and 27 systems are at a complete standstill. An action plan is being implemented to improve the management of the water system. It provides for the removal of 3956 illegal connections spread over 70 water groups, the financial control of 577 groups and the settlement of their debts to the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company - STEG- (463 groups) and the Tunisian Water Distribution Utility (309 groups). Abdelhamid Mnajja said the debts of the water groups amounted to TND 17.88 million, including TND 13 million to STEG and TND 4 million to SONEDE (a repayment of about TND 145,000). Regarding SONEDE's preparations for the summer season, Mnajja pointed out that the company plans to carry out 73 interventions in the vario us governorates at a total cost of TND 49 million. This includes the electrification and equipment of 55 deep wells. There are also plans to build desalination plants and to strengthen the water resources of the network by connecting all the wells in the various regions to the SONEDE lines (18 wells are planned). Commenting on the blockages in certain SONEDE projects, the manager said that 40% of the problems encountered were due to the opposition of certain citizens to certain works being carried out. There was also the inability of certain developers (including those responsible for the construction of deep wells) to fulfil their contractual obligations (8 contracts were cancelled). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse