2023-08-22 09:44:07
The current economic situation in the country is characterized by the exponential rise in the prices of basic necessities, artificial shortages and misleading actions carried out by speculators. This, of course, put a strain on the shopping basket and increased the profits of the speculators. The latter have taken over all the axes of distribution and sales to the detriment of the general interest of the country. To this end, we contacted Ridha Chiba, international export consultant to provide us with more details on this very complex economic situation and to offer us possible solutions to definitively remedy these fraudulent maneuvers which have lasted too long and truly establish economic justice and to which the poorest classes aspire. Interview.
How do you analyze the current economic situation in Tunisia?
The economic context is distinguished by several criteria that confirm the difficult situation our country is going through.
At first glance, we see a considerable lack of wealth creation due, among other things, to a total absence of national capital investment.
Then, there is a flagrant absence of an optimal load plan rationally exploiting the various strategic sectors held by the State and the private sector, the abandonment of large-scale companies such as the “AMS” and the recourse to the importation of competitive products.
Also, the status quo, the imbalance in the trade balance, the regression of certain economic aggregates, mainly GDP, including growth for 2023 is devoid of 2.3%, with variation considered depending on financing conditions and structural changes.
This, in addition to the unemployment rate which stood at 15.6% in the second quarter of 2023, inflation which fell back to 9.3% and the key rate which remained unchanged at 8%, the absence of a within a legal framework guaranteeing the interests of all economic and social stakeholders. The current economic situation is also characterized by the absence of rational and equitable taxation, the absence of a reallocation of all Tunisian administrations and the disengagement of the State to design economic and social options within the framework of a clear strategy in the short, medium and long term, going hand in hand with the aspirations of the people and basing itself essentially on the Tunisian potential.
Concomitantly with this critical economic situation, life in Tunisia is characterized by the unreasonable increase in prices and above all the illicit storage of products affecting the citizens’ food in particular, such as pasta, coffee, sugar, vegetable oil. Add to that the prices of the services practiced by the “Sonede” and the “Steg” which continue to increase in a vertiginous way.
All these criteria ont reduced considerably the purchasing power of the citizen and left him constantly under painful pressure which was difficult to overcome.
What is this instability in the prices of products and services due to?
We note that the selling prices and the distribution of several basic products are imposed on the final consumers, either by the harassment and the notoriety of the companies which impose their conditions and monopolize almost the entire market with regard to the material conditions of which they dispose, either through speculation, the parallel market, concealment of assets, lobbies in several strategic and vital economic sectors, and above all the very poor organization and lack of scrupulous control of retail and wholesale sales, despite the efforts made by the central and regional administrative authorities.
Also, we know full well that Tunisia has an annual cereal consumption of regarding 3.4 million tonnes distributed as follows: one million two hundred tonnes of durum wheat, one million two hundred tonnes of soft wheat and one million tonnes of barley.
To this end, it remains imperative that the State achieves the best performance in an efficient manner in accordance with careful planning, optimal organization, reliable management and rigorous control where omission and error can in no way be tolerated. .
How can we control this price spike
From the outset, we can affirm that the responsibility is shared and lies with four main stakeholders, namely the producer, the seller, the buyer and the state.
For the producer, the cost price makes it possible to determine the minimum level for fixing the selling price of the product or the provision of a service so that the company can recover its costs. To this, it is necessary to determine the profit margin which generates the profits from the sale of the products or services.
For a company to increase its profitability without harming consumers, several solutions are possible. First, selling prices can be increased without deviating too much from the market price. Thus, producers should always look for cheaper partners to offer their customers prices accordingly. Also, they must establish an adequate load plan and follow an optimal manufacturing process in accordance with standards to avoid the repercussions of non-quality on cost prices.
On the buyer side, the latter must absolutely boycott the most expensive prices and foreign products that harm similar local products. They must, moreover, systematically contact the structures in charge of rights of consumers and all similar groups in all regions of the country in order to find solutions in the event of disputes, and also to help strengthen the campaigns aimed at boycotting products whose high cost is abnormal. In short, it is imperative that the Tunisian learn to boycott certain products and he must also rationalize his consumption.
The distributor, for his part, must absolutely link his real inventory statements with the Ministry of Commerce and have a statement in which all his customers appear as well as the quantities sold to each of them.
It should in no way replace the retailer to ensure better distribution and careful control.
How do you view subsidized food products and how to control them?
The finance law for the 2023 financial year provided for a compensation budget of 8.8 billion dinars, including 5.6 billion dinars for the fuel subsidy and 2.5 billion dinars for the commodity subsidy, i.e. lower budgets than those provided for by the 2022 law (respectively less than 25% and less 33% compared to the 2022 law).
Similarly, state-subsidized food products are 400 g large bread, 220 g baguette, 1 kg pasta, couscous, semolina and sugar, 1 liter milk and vegetable oil.
In fact, the above amount allocated for the subsidy of basic needs for consumption is insignificant compared to the state budget which is 69.340 billion dinars.
Despite these figures which rightly corroborate that the State tends to gradually release commodity prices, we find that all the subsidized products are monopolized by speculators who route them, as they please, for other users with high prices and exorbitant conditions. This, in addition to tourists and passengers in Tunisia who benefit from it.
Concerning the State, the actions to be undertaken must be much more serious and supported by a deterrent power. They must check the profit margins of intermediaries and their compliance with the laws in force, encourage more sales from producer to consumer throughout the year and in all regions of the country. The actions of the State must control the compliance of products with production standards, they must fight once morest price increases to put an end to this masquerade of corruptors, speculators, impostors and criminals.
How can we effectively control unauthorized prices?
In principle it is the State which must ensure imports of strategic products and not entrusting them to the private sector. It must require the linking of all the stock statements of strategic products with the Ministry of Commerce by computer networks and, thus, control the inflated cost prices and the exaggerated profit margins from the cost accounting of each company.
The authorities can thus dissect the products into by-products by determining the purchase costs of the various components; namely the raw material, labor, machine operation, time allocated, scrap rates allowed… and check exactly the margin rate applied for each component as well as the margin on the cost price of each product intended for sale.
The state must, on the other hand, conscientiously fight once morest the informal economy, dumping, lobbying, monopolies and pressure groups. It must absolutely be intransigent and dissuasive vis-à-vis conditional sales, illicit competition and the proliferation of corruption.
What can you suggest as a conclusion ?
The Tunisia expects a cereal harvest below expectations and which is too far from the country’s needs. This reality might lead to possible shortages of cereals if the State does not prepare properly and seriously beforehand.
In parallel and in the long term, the State must put all his know-how to succeed in a good take-off of agricultural activity by making available to farmers all the means required, mainly material, he must take back all the land that has been ceded to individuals who have not made it bear fruit and give them to young engineers with well-defined objectives. It must also put in place motivating and encouraging measures and ensure rigorous monitoring and controls that would help investors in the agricultural sector to work in a safer way. All this will help the country to achieve grain self-sufficiency in the near future.
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