Tunisia’s grain harvest is expected to reach 1.8 million metric tons this season, marking a more than 64 percent increase from last year’s harvest and a strong season for the country after consecutive drought seasons over the past five years, according to Agriculture Minister Ezzedine Ben Cheikh.
Experts attribute the sharp increase to improved rainfall in key agricultural regions.
“It is a good season with about 1.8 million metric tons,” said Ben Cheikh.
Last year’s grain crop was around 1.1 million metric tons.
Tunisia, which is experiencing a severe financial crisis, has been greatly impacted by rising global wheat prices and successive dry seasons.
The anticipated production growth will enable Tunisia to reduce its grain imports.
Over the last decade, Tunisia has averaged about 1.5 million metric tons in annual grain harvests while consuming around 3.4 million metric tons per year.
TunisianMonitorOnline (NejiMed)
