Category: Business

The Export Pomotion Centre (CEPEX) is organising Tunisia's participation in APAS SHOW 2024, the largest food and beverage fair in the Americas due next May 13-16 at São Paulo Expo Center Norte, Brazil. With about 850 exhibitors and over 73, 000 visitors from 200 countries, APAS SHOW is also the biggest trade show in the supermarket industry across the world. In addition to food and beverage, the trade show covers the sectors of technology, innovation, logistics, finance, infrastructure and equipment. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The sky on Saturday night will be characterised by low clouds in most areas, with local fog in the eastern coastal areas, according to the National Institute of Meyeorology (INM). Winds will be from the east, moderate to relatively strong in the south, with local sandstorms in the extreme south and weak to moderate in the rest of the regions. Temperatures at night will generally be between 15 and 19 degrees, reaching 23 degrees in the extreme south. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The weather situation late Saturday night and Sunday morning will be favourable for the appearance of local fog in the eastern regions of the country, according to a bulletin from the National Institute of Meteorology. The fog is expected to be dense, especially near the coast, reducing horizontal visibility to less than 800 metres. The fog is expected to clear gradually from 9 on Sunday morning. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: President of the Competition Council, Judge Hassan Guizani, said that there are no sectors excluded from the Council's intervention, which can impose a fine of up to 10% of the previous year's turnover. During an interview at the TAP television studio, Guizani gave details on the reality of competition in Tunisia, the main activities of the Competition Council based on the study of the market and the impact on consumers of the decisions to carry out automatic audits in certain sectors. Speaking about financial penalties, Guizani added: "I do not say that the penalties are based on the size of the damage or the value of a transaction, the Council can adopt this when reducing. But there are institutions that may not be aware and sometimes admit it and the Council intervenes wisely. He added that the sanctions take into account the circumstances of the institutions, knowing that the amount of the sanction can be reduced. He pointed out that the Council can also ask the market or the institution to sto p the practice or issue a decision to close an institution until the anti-competitive practice is stopped. The Competition Council is a public body with legal personality, which enjoys full independence and impartiality and plays an advisory and judicial role. The advisory role includes mandatory and voluntary consultations on competition matters and its opinions are not subject to appeal. "The Council plays a judicial role and issues decisions that are subject to appeal. Its work is similar to that of the ordinary court system and includes a mixed panel of judges and specialists in competition and economic matters. The Council cooperates with the Ministry of Trade in the field of market research, which is both a priority and a working tool for the Council." The Council has a research structure based on rapporteurs who work under the supervision of a general rapporteur and have research and investigative powers similar to those of investigating judges. They are empowered to carry out investigations and us e public authority, and their work ends with a decision to close an investigation referred to the Council. Guizani pointed out that the Council can also issue a decision of a certain nature and take precautionary measures against any institution, and has absolute powers to take appropriate measures to avoid damage to the economy. He explained that the precautionary measures remain in force until a decision is issued, pointing out that the Council's decisions are issued after summons and pleadings and can be challenged before the Administrative Court. Regarding the decisions that the Council can take, Guizani noted that the Competition Council can issue decisions with urgent effect, which are directly enforceable, regardless of the decision of the Court of Appeal. He stressed that Council studies the market and takes note of all aspects of it, whether the official market or parallel markets. And the Council is obliged to "get to the truth and work with the Ministry of Trade to create a specialised database to monitor prices". He pointed out that the studies allow the Council to identify the imbalance and that the Council intervenes either on the basis of petitions received from various sources or through an automatic commitment through a report by the General Rapporteur after witnessing violations. He added that the complaint is referred to a department of the Council to examine the file, and if there is a serious suspicion, then the decision is made to automatically take over the file and carry out an investigation, whether by reaching proof of guilt or by the investigation leading to the conclusion that the practice is justified. He emphasised that the Board has also developed an intervention strategy whenever a decision is made that has an impact on the market, as there are market investigation plans that have been developed according to a set strategy. After completing its investigations, the Board considers and makes decisions that lead to a finding of guilt or innocence. It can also declare that it ha s no jurisdiction or that the matter has nothing to do with competition. He pointed out that the Council can reject the petition, but it intervenes through the automatic commitment mechanism and, in the case of a decision finding guilt, the Council expresses its opinion on whether or not to approve the penalty. In response to a question about the impact of the Council's recent decision on lawyers' fees or the canned tuna market, Guizani noted that Law No. 36 of 2015 on the reorganisation of competition and prices aims to "maintain the general balance of the market and consumer welfare." He stressed that the Council is working to maintain the general balance of the market and consumer welfare. Guizani added that the Council is working to rebalance the market by putting an end to anti-competitive practices and establishing the principle of legitimate competition. He pointed out that although the legislator has not defined competition, it is based on the principle of "freedom of prices and freedom of competi tion" and has regulated infringements of competition. These include acts, alliances, explicit and implicit agreements that violate competition, as well as the formation of a consortium to raise prices and prevent market entry, dominance, discrimination and monopoly. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: President Kais Saied's visit to Nabeul follows requests and warnings from MPs about the state of Hammamet's beach, which is suffering from serious sea erosion, as well as the deplorable state of the sewage system, Yassine Memi, MP representing Hammamet in the ARP and president of the Culture and Services Committee in Parliament, told TAP. After this visit, the state, with all its structures, should effectively begin the necessary reforms in this region to find solutions to the problems of the city of Hammamet, where the quality of services is deteriorating at all levels," he added. The deputy expressed his desire to see action taken, particularly on the beach and coastline, and to find solutions to the problem of waste water disposal, especially as the tourist season is approaching. He also mentioned the town's urban development plan, which he said had been blocked for years. The President of the Republic on Saturday visited the town of Hammamet, where he inspected the beach, which is submerged in seawater, and took note of the marine pollution caused by sewage. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis:If it were up to me, I would stop building dams and let water resume its natural cycle," said Dr Raoudha Gafrej, an international expert and consultant on integrated water resources management and climate change adaptation. "The storage of surface water must not be at the expense of the recharge of the groundwater table, and humans must not deprive other plant and animal species of their right to fresh water," explained the scientist, who advocated, in an interview with TAP TV respect for the natural water cycle. For Gafrej, not retaining rainwater does not mean losing water; on the contrary, it favours the recharging of aquifers, thereby restoring the water cycle and renewing groundwater reserves. "This helps to reduce flooding, combat erosion and, of course, provide more water during hot periods by recharging the water table during periods of heavy rainfall". Gafrej believes we should be more concerned about the state of groundwater, which, once over-exploited, is very slow to replenish, if at all. Surface water is provided naturally, in stable quantities on Earth, thanks to a perfect natural cycle. The Earth has received the same amount of water since its creation. What has changed with climate change is the distribution of this water among the continents. The run-off water must be allowed to resume its course to replenish the water table, which is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, because a drop in its level could jeopardise food security, basic water supplies and resilience to climate change," she pointed out. She condemned the uncontrolled drilling of deep wells, the number of which has reached 30,000 in Tunisia. On the issue of climate change, Gafrej stressed the importance of run-off water for marine ecosystems, photosynthesis and food security. On another level, the expert pointed out that allowing runoff to find its way into the oceans can only be beneficial for people and biodiversity. "This water is vital because it carries the mineral salts needed by phytoplankton, the micros copic algae responsible for photosynthesis in the ocean, as produced by vegetation on land. These marine organisms are at the base of the food chain for fish, marine mammals and shellfish. They also produce large quantities of oxygen, which dissolves in the water and then finds its way into the air we breathe thanks to the exchange of gases between the ocean and the atmosphere. "Almost 50% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by phytoplankton, which also absorb around 25% of atmospheric and anthropogenic CO2 (due to human activity)," says Gafrej, explaining the importance of these organisms for life on Earth and their dependence on the water that circulates around the planet. According to scientists, marine phytoplankton fix as much CO2 from the atmosphere as all terrestrial plants, and are therefore vital in reducing the greenhouse effect and rising temperatures caused by human activity. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Cumulative tourism revenues reached TND 1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a slight increase of 6% compared to the same period last year, according to monetary and financial indicators published on Friday by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT). Workers' remittances increased by 4%, from TND 1.7 billion at the end of March 2023 to TND 1.8 billion on March 31, 2024. Cumulative external debt service more than doubled to TND 5.8 billion in the first three months of the current year, compared with TND 2.6 billion in the same period last year, according to the same source. Net foreign exchange reserves reached TND 23.4 billion on April 5, equivalent to 107 days of imports, a significant increase compared with the same period in 2023 (22 billion dinars, or 95 days of imports). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Tunisia urgently needs to adopt the water code and set up a national plan to tackle the water crisis, while regularly evaluating it, said Raoudha Gafrej, a doctor and international expert in integrated water resources management and climate change adaptation. In an interview with TAP, Gafrej said that the revision of this code, which regulates water resources, has taken years (since 2008). It is necessary to promulgate the texts of application as soon as the code is adopted, in order to encourage the creation of the planned institutions (High Water Council, regulatory authority ....), to organise the interventions of the various stakeholders in the water sector and to mobilise the financial resources needed to carry out the planned actions, he added. Average per capita water consumption in Tunisia is estimated at 430 m3/year and is expected to fall to less than 350 m3 by 2030, according to official data. This is below the threshold of absolute water scarcity, which is set at 500 m3/person/year. "Cli mate change, poor governance, overexploitation of resources and disregard for the water cycle and the rights of ecosystems have further aggravated the situation in Tunisia," she said, calling for scientific indicators and the results of studies to be taken into account in order to develop effective water management strategies. The expert also addressed the issue of water wastage, which has several facets, including losses recorded in the network of the National Water Distribution Utility (SONEDE), 30% losses, and in the water groups (65%), food wastage, which inevitably means wasting the water used to produce food, and the destruction of surplus crops by some farmers, as has been observed in recent years. "Saving water and using it rationally is everyone's responsibility," she stressed. It is not only about saving the resource itself, but also about avoiding food waste, over-consumption, pollution of water sources and poor waste management. "Wasting food automatically means wasting the water used to produc e it," said Gafrej, pointing out that waste recovery and responsible consumption, including the correct portioning of meals to avoid wastage, are practices that, if generalised, will result in significant water savings. "Water is a power that should be entrusted to wise structures to manage and preserve it properly, and also to protect the rights of future generations to this common good," said the expert, calling for a general mobilisation involving government structures, private companies and citizens. At the international level, Gafrej pointed to the need to reach an agreement on water, similar to the Paris Climate Agreement, which would take into account the impact of climate change on the global water cycle. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The weather will be a bit cloudy in most regions on Saturday evening with local fog expected in eastern coastal regions by the end of the night, according to the National Meteorological Institute (INM). Temperatures will range between 15°C and 19°C, reaching 23°C in the far south. The wind will blow east moderate to relatively strong in the south with sand storms in the far south, and light to moderate elsewhere. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The weather Saturday is locally misty early in the morning in the east, getting sunny to a bit cloudy nationwide. The wind is blowing east relatively strong near northern coasts and light to moderate elsewhere. The sea is choppy in the north and a bit choppy elsewhere. Highs range between 28°C and 33°C, hovering around 24°C in eastern coastal regions. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse