Tunisia, December 13, 2022 (Xinhua) Tunisia’s trade deficit increased by 58.8 percent during the first 11 months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to what was reported today (Tuesday) by the Tunisian National Institute of Statistics.
Data from the Statistical Institute, a government institution, showed that the value of Tunisia’s trade deficit during this period amounted to 23.281 billion dinars (7.275 billion dollars), compared to 14.653 billion dinars (4.579 billion dollars) during the same period last year.
It indicated that the percentage of coverage of imports by exports declined by 5.1 points compared to the results recorded during the same period last year, thus reaching the level of 69.1 percent.
On the other hand, the institute pointed out that Tunisia’s trade exchanges maintained an upward trend at the end of the 11 months of this year, with greater movement of imports, as exports increased by 24 percent, compared to 20.4 percent during the same period in 2021.
The value of these exports amounted to 52.164 billion dinars ($16.301 billion), compared to 42.069 billion dinars ($13.146 billion) during the same period in 2021, while imports increased by 33 percent, compared to an increase of 21.7 percent at the end of November 2021.
The value of imports amounted to 75.445 billion dinars (23.576 billion dollars), compared to 56.723 billion dinars (17.725 billion dollars) during the same period last year.
The rise recorded in the country’s exports is due to the improvement in the performance of many sectors, including the phosphate and its derivatives sector, which increased by 50.4 percent, the agricultural and food products sector by 35.3 percent, the textile, clothing and leather sectors by 21.4 percent, and the mechanical and electrical industries sector by 14.6 percent.
As for the increase in imports, it is mainly due to the development of the country’s imports of a number of basic materials, including energy 87 percent, raw and semi-finished materials 35.8 percent, equipment materials 12.5 percent, and consumables 14 percent.
