The Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP) recently proposed the transfer of state aid from vegetable oils to olive oil, said Anouar Harrathi, responsible for internal trade, Maghrebi and marketing at the Agriculture Organization.
Harathi stressed in a statement to TAP that the proposal to transfer the subsidy from vegetable oils to olive oil aims to ensure the supply of the domestic market with this product in the necessary quantities, to support the Tunisian farmer and protect the health of the citizens.
“Our goal is for the Tunisian to consume olive oil at preferential prices, so we continue the experience of last season, when the state supplied a quarter of the total consumption of olive oil (10 thousand tons) at preferential prices (15 dinars per liter) , the manager stated. And to recall that “the National Petroleum Office (ONH) recently decided to continue with this same approach”.
He added that the agricultural organization also suggested that the production of public farms in this area such as Henchir Châal should be oriented towards the domestic market, so that the Tunisian gets used to the consumption of olive oil and can constitute an alternative consumption in the event of a decrease in the marketing of Tunisian olive oil in foreign markets with the aim of maintaining the sustainability of the production chain.
Harrathi called on the Presidency of the Republic and the Government to intervene as soon as possible to finance the ONH so that it can adjust prices by buying and storing additional quantities of olive oil, thus returning the state’s export revenue.
The Ministry of Agriculture is also encouraged to provide subsidies to farmers who wish to store their olive production to cover labor costs in the olive growing sector
On the other hand, Harrathi estimated that the production of olive oil will not exceed 300 thousand tons, against 340 thousand tons predicted by the competent authorities and 400 thousand tons by exporters.
The official reminded that the price of olive oil is subject to the law of supply and demand, adding that world market prices are currently within the range of 7 euros, that is, between 25 and 28 dinars per liter.
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