Morocco was the top importer of Tunisian dates during the 2022/2023 harvest season with 22,900 tonnes (17.7% of total exports). Italy and France are the second and third biggest importers with 7.8% and 7.6%, respectively, the National Observatory of Agriculture (French: ONAGRI) said.

Tunisian exports to Europe stand at 48.7%, ONAGRI said. Sales to Africa and Asia amount to 25.2% and 14.9%, respectively. The share of imports of the Americas is estimated at 5.3 %.

Exports of Tunisian dates totalled 7,300 tonnes in October – the start of the 2023/24 harvest season- with an overall value of TND 46.1 million, posting a 2.3% drop in volume and a 6.7% rise in value in comparison with October 2022.

Deglet Ennour variety accounted for 80.1% of exports in October, that is 5,800 tonnes (TND 41.2 million). The average export price grew 12.7% to 7.08 DT/kg in October.

Exports of Tunisian dates in 2022/2023 reached 124,000 tonnes with a total value of TND 742.09 million, falling 4.1% in volume and 1% in value compared
to the same period in the 2021/2022 harvest season.

The average price rose 3.3% during the twelve months of the season to 5.99 dinars TD/kg against 5.80 dinars/kg in 2021/2022.

In 2022, Tunisian exports accounted for 10.7% of the value of global exports, ranking fifth.

ONAGRI figures show dates account for 12.6% of the value of Tunisia’s food exports in 2022, ie. 35.4% of exports.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse