Tunisia: the sale of floral waters, an additional income for families

2023-05-25 22:11:31
In the Cap-Bon region, the distillation of floral waters allows thousands of families to benefit from additional income. This practice also places Tunisia in first place for the export of neroli, an essence highly coveted by perfumers. But this economic chain remains dependent on many factors. From our special correspondent, In the patio of her house, Fatma Limam, 81, is partly hidden by the scent of geranium water vapour. She boils the flowers in a still to distill the floral water, a tradition she has maintained since she was a teenager. “There, we screw the lid with a cloth so that the steam does not escape too much, as for couscous. I do it because we use floral waters for many things: rose water in the kitchen, cakes for example; orange blossom water flavors the meat,” she explains. In Nabeul, in the Cap-Bon region, the sale of floral waters represents additional income for many families. But that doesn’t cover production costs, according to Fatma’s daughter, Douha. “It’s a bit tiring and the income is not very important. She takes for a fechka, a two-liter bottle, only 4 dinars margin. » A highly coveted essence At the Nabeul market, traders sell rosehip and rose flowers for distillation… Jalel, 50, who does this business in addition to his work in tourism, has trouble selling. “It’s quite expensive this year, because there hasn’t been much rain, so the price of roses has gone up. As you can see, some customers come, ask the price, and leave, they don’t have enough money. This is the crisis, ”he laments. In this economy of floral waters, one stands out: the bitter orange flower, harvested between March and April. Eighty percent of the harvest is intended for industrialists who extract neroli, an essence highly coveted by international perfumers… Chedly Belkhodja is one of the producers. “It’s a market that is very price-sensitive because the harvest lasts regarding a month and the quantities delivered to the market or by farmers daily vary from day to day,” he says. All it takes is a little wetter, cooler or windy weather, it will slow down the harvest, so suddenly it will strain the market, prices will go up and we have to manage this situation on a daily basis. Despite these speculative contingencies, neroli represents an economic asset for the region. The kilo sells for 3,000 euros and Tunisia is one of the leading producers on the world market.
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