The food trade balance posted in February 2023 a surplus of TND 1.1 million against a deficit of TND 137.5 million during the same month last year, according to the data released Tuesday by the National Observatory of Agriculture (Onagri).
A coverage rate of 100.1% in February 2023 against 89.0% in January 2022.
This surplus is mainly due to the slowing down of the pace of grain imports by 5.1% and the increase of olive oil exports by 29.6%.
The average price of olive oil for export recorded a 41.2% rise, to TND 15.23/kg, thereby showing a clear improvement, compared to the previous year.
Prices also went up by 38.2% for tomatoes, 8.0% for dates and 6.3% for citrus fruits compared to the same period in 2022.
On the other hand, the prices of fishery products fell by 14% and of durum wheat by 18.0% compared to February 2022.
The prices of other grain products (soft wheat, barley and maize) rose between 7% and 4%.
Import prices for grains dropped by 18.0% for durum wheat, compared to a rise of 7.5% for maize, 7.2% for common wheat and 3.8% for barley.
The prices of sugar also increased by 22.7% and milk and milk by-products by 17.6%.