Tunisia: A Market Guide

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|22 November 2006

Tunisia provides a small but growing market committed to agricultural production. The Tunisian economy shows a steady growth at roughly 5% a year driven by insightful economic reforms launched in the late 1980s. In fact, the Tunisian economic system is often held up as a model for other African and Middle Eastern countries, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS).

In 2006, the economy recovered noticeably, aided by a good agricultural season. Growth is expected to be over 5.3% for 2006, and the outlook for 2007 . The outlook for 2007 is even more favorable, with expected growth at 6%. Inflation has been kept in check, but soaring prices for oil and other international commodities pushed the consumer price index to a new high of 4.7%.

The majority of Tunisian farmers grow basic rain-fed food grains (primarily wheat and barley) and face highly variable production due to intermittent droughts.

The Business Culture

Doing business in Tunisia often requires direct interaction with customers or a local agent to serve as a trade facilitator and sometimes an interpreter — the official language is Arabic, and the second language is French.

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The Tunisian weekend is Saturday and Sunday. During the holy fasting month of Ramadan the workday is shorter, requiring businesspeople to be concise and to avoid lengthy discussions or meetings. If invited into someone’s home to share the Iftar meal (the meal marking the end of fast at sunset), it is common for guests to bring a small gift as a token of appreciation.

Contacts

Directorate General for Veterinary services (DGSV)
Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Hydraulic Resources
30, rue Alain Savary, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
Phone: 216 71 786 833
E-mail: [email protected]

Directorate General for Crop Protection and Quality of Agricultural Products (DGPCQPA)
Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Hydraulic Resources
30, rue Alain Savary, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
Phone: 216 71 786 833
E-mail: [email protected]

Directorate of Quality and Consumer Protection (DQPC)
Ministry of Commerce
Adresse : 37, av. Keireddine Pacha, 1002 Tunis
Phone : (216) 71 890-070 / 890 337
E-Mail : [email protected]

Institut National de Normalisation et de Propriété Industrielle (Innorpi)
Standards setting and intellectual property enforcement authority
BP 23 – 1012 Tunis Belvédère
Phone: 216 71 785 922
Fax: 216 71 781 563
E-mail: [email protected]

Institut National des Statistiques (INS)
Trade and demographic statistics
Phone: 216 71 891 002
Fax (216) 71 792 559
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.ins.nat.tn

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