Tunisia, as of May 2023, had imported goods worth 34 billion Tunisian dinars ($11 billion), while the value of exports stood at 26 billion Tunisian dinars ($8.4 billion), the National Statistics Institute says.
The figures indicate a trade deficit – total value of imports minus total value of exports – of 8.1 billion Tunisian dinars ($2.6 billion).
The Tunisian trade deficit had reduced as of May 2023, compared to a similar period in 2022, when it stood at nearly 10 billion Tunisian dinars ($3.2 billion).
The National Statistics Institute said on Wednesday that the fall in deficit was as a result of the faster growth in exports (11.3 per cent), compared to the slight increase in the value of imports (2.4 per cent).
The mechanical and electrical sectors accounted for the highest exports (20.8 per cent), followed by the textiles, clothing and leather sector (15 per cent).
The agri-food industries sector came third with 8.5 per cent. The sector that witnessed a significant fall in the value of exports was energy (32.3 per cent).
The rise in imports, the national statistics report shows, was due to a jump in the imports of energy products (10.6 per cent), capital goods (6 per cent) and consumer goods (4.8 per cent).
Imports of raw materials and semi-finished products fell by 2.4 per cent.
China, Russia, Algeria, Türkiye, Ukraine, Egypt and Greece are the countries where Tunisia’s exports registered lower returns compared to the value of goods it imported from the said-markets.
France, Germany and Libya were the nations that Tunisia exported more of its goods to, compared to the imports.
