Ezzeddine Saidane: “The World Bank and the IMF to complement each other “
In statements over the airwaves of a private radio, economic expert Ezzeddine Saïdane estimated that “the World Bank’s decision to suspend until further notice its partnership framework with Tunisia will further complicate the situation and that the Tunisia’s file will not be examined at the meeting of the IMF’s Board of Directors on March 21, 2023”. According to him, the World Bank and the IMF complement each other and act in concert. “The WB’s decision will make it difficult for Tunisia to access external financing.
The reprogramming of the Tunisian file by the IMF will take another three months and it will still be necessary to know how to turn the page on the affair of irregular African migrants”, explained Saïdane, assuring that the suspension of the WB’s activities in Tunisia is however provisional, as it is a member country.
Dried tomatoes : An investment niche and export
The National Network of Agricultural Business Nurseries has just published a post on its facebook page highlighting the importance of the dried tomato sector in Tunisia. Thus, with exports of regarding 6,000 t of dried tomatoes per year at an average value of 15 million dollars, Tunisia is the 17e world exporter… About 78% of these export earnings were made with Italy and 7.9% with Germany (Gica). According to TradeMap statistics, the outlook for the Tunisian dried tomato markets is positive especially for the Italian, German and French markets. This is an obvious opportunity to seize for Tunisian producers and processors. In Tunisia, tomato cultivation extends, according to the Interprofessional Grouping of Vegetables (GIL), over an average area of approximately 29,000 ha/year, offering an average production of around 1.2 million tons.
This production comes from field crops (seasonal and late tomatoes) and crops under cover (cold greenhouse and greenhouse heated by geothermal waters). The tomatoes are dried on metal bedsteads, raised to a height of regarding 1.20 m, with earth to avoid dust and insects.
Afterwards, the tomatoes will be cut and salted (3 to 4 days). Once well dried, they will be ground using grinders like those used for molding spices. And there you have it, a product, other than the canned tomato. It is a better tasting and healthier product, compared to canned tomatoes… Confit in extra virgin olive oil, spices or a little lemon, the dried tomato becomes a real treat…
Moreover, training on good practices for processing dried tomatoes was organized by the Pampat Tunisia project in collaboration with the Gica, Group of canned food industries and with the support of the Takwin.tn program implemented by ” Swisscontact”, from 27 February to 1is March 2023 for the benefit of operators and processors of dried tomatoes.
Air Transport : Partnership agreement between Tunisair and the Ftdj
Tunisair and the Tunisian Federation of Newspaper Managers (Ftdj) recently signed a partnership agreement at the company’s headquarters. This partnership and cooperation agreement aims to publish information on the national airline in the written and electronic media, to promote air travel to and from Tunisia.
Tunisair will facilitate the movement of members of the Ftdj on its lines. The agreement was signed by the chairman and managing director of Tunisair, Khaled Chelli, and the president of the Ftdj, Taïeb Zahar, in the presence of executives from the company and members of the Federation.
