“It’s been going on for a while, and it’s really concerning.” For several months when she goes shopping in Tunisia, Emna El Hammi, 41, has not found what she is looking for. Since the war in Ukraine, Tunisia has been facing rampant inflation (+8.2% in July 2022 according to the Tunisian National Statistics Institute) as well as significant food and energy shortages, forcing certain brands to ration goods such as oil, butter or sugar.
“On the shelves of Tunisian supermarkets or grocery stores, there is not much or sometimes even nothing on certain shelves for weeks… They restock very little,” the 40-year-old, who works at a consultancy, tells BFMTV.com. From the capital.
A crisis of multifactorial origin
“There has been a shortage of flour for more than 6 months, so it is difficult to find bread in bakeries. There is also a shortage of water, flour, sugar, milk…”, lists this Tunisian resident. “It is a multifactorial problem. Each of them has a different explanation: for some it is the international context such as the war in Ukraine, for others the internal economic crisis.”
“First is the impact of the international shortage of raw materials, which makes products more expensive… And with the economic crisis, imports are down. In addition, there is a very bad management of the Ministry of Commerce that is supposed to control the use of subsidized products.”
Precisely, the Tunisian president, Kaïs Saied, announced last March a series of measures so that the subsidized goods are reserved as a priority for the population. He said that he wanted to “wage a fierce war” against speculators who want to “undermine the social peace and security” of the country. However, “there are not enough controls, so the subsidized goods are monopolized by professionals and they are forced to make requisitions,” laments the young woman, tired of the situation that economically suffocates the population.
Sales under the shelter, water cuts…
Emna El Hammi is particularly worried. “Two months ago we entered an era of rationing of basic products, which we normally have in large quantities. In some stores they no longer allow us to take more than one packet of water, no more than one packet of sugar or pasta. Even coffee or soft drinks… The worst thing is that it is installed and is denied by the government and the Head of State who say that it is orchestrated, they are in a conspiratorial delirium.”
“Some, like my local grocer, now sell under the counter. Last time he told me he could make a few phone calls to get me sugar or flour because I’m a regular customer… Add to that the frequent power and water outages… .”
Professionals from the coffee sector sound the alarm and even predict a total paralysis of coffee in the country in the coming days, which could pose a threat to 120,000 employees, according to the newspaper. The Tunisian press.
The sugar shortage even forced the Coca-Cola factory to temporarily close its doors, leading to the dismissal of 6,000 employees. Last Friday, a demonstration was organized in front of the Ben Arous Governorate to protest against the drop in production and the suspension of several employees.
Hajji Hamza, can only confirm. This logistics manager for a large company was about to open a bakery when shortages hit his business hard. “We were forced to close the lab 10 days ago, now I have 11 unemployed employees.”
An even worse crisis than 2019
“The situation is critical, we are entering a very delicate period. It is even worse than in 2019, the stock is practically zero. There are no soft drinks anymore, the chocolate shops are closing due to lack of sugar,” adds the 33-year-old man who works in the suburbs of Tunis.
“We manage, we still find certain products,” he clarifies, “but it’s a nuisance, prices have skyrocketed. We spend about 300 dinars (90 euros) a month on food, against 480 to 600 dinars (150 to 200 euros). before. And we still have the charges to pay…”, he concludes.
In Tunisia, the agri-food sector is not the only one affected by the rise in prices and the fear of shortages: fuels are also affected. In recent days, large queues have been observed in front of gas stations in Tunis, sometimes blocking traffic in certain sectors of the city.
In addition to the political crisis it is facing, Tunisia is over-indebted and experiencing serious economic difficulties. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has greatly increased the difficulties of the country, which is highly dependent on foreign countries for its food, especially for wheat, from which it imports half of its needs, mainly from Ukraine. Last June, the World Bank announced a $130 million loan to Tunisia to help it cope with the impact of the war in Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
