The Tunisian government plans to review subsidies for basic materials, ministers said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Siham Al-Boughdiri told reporters that in the context of the current economic situation, the cost of state-supported materials is witnessing a “exorbitant” increase, amounting to 4.2 billion dinars (about 1.3 billion euros) in 2022, compared to 3.2 billion dinars in 2021 ( about a billion euros).
The minister explained that this “very high” cost is comparable to the costs of the health and employment budget.
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Sihem Bougdiri, Tunisian Finance Minister
The minister estimates that it will exceed 5 billion dinars (1.5 billion euros) in 2023, due to the rise in the prices of some basic materials such as wheat.
Therefore, there is a need for a gradual review of “subsidizing basic materials, but without a desire to raise them,” according to the minister, who presented, with a number of other ministers, the government’s economic reform program.
In turn, the Minister of Industry and Ports, Naila Nouira, confirmed that the “automatic adjustment” in the prices of fuels, electricity and gas will continue.
Economy Minister Samir Said explained that the government’s economic reform program aims primarily to “create conditions for economic growth.”
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Samir Said, Tunisian Minister of Economy
He stressed that subsidy reform should “take into account the purchasing power of needy families.”
The government’s decisions come within the framework of a national economic reform program that includes several sectors and the establishment of a “necessary” development plan for the period 2023-2025 that aims to achieve economic and financial stability in the country.