FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
-
Above average cereal harvest is gathered
-
Relatively stable domestic grain prices observed but high meat and vegetable prices contribute to increased inflation
-
Food supply difficulties eased following the return of refugees to their home countries but high unemployment rates, in particular among young people, remains a concern
Above average cereal harvest gathered in 2012
The grain harvest in Tunisia has been completed by last July. Even though earlier projections of a record harvest of 2.5 million tonnes of grain did not materialize, the total cereal harvest of 2.28 million tonnes remains above average and is only slightly (by 1.42 percent) lower than last year’s bumper crop. In Tunisia crop production varies markedly from year to year depending on the outturn of the huge rainfall variations. The loss in production this year is attributable to floods in February following heavy rainfalls combined with the runoff from snowfalls which destroyed about 14 000 hectares of grain in the most productive northwest part of the country (Beja, Bizerte and Jendouba). Total wheat production in 2012 decreased by 5 percent compared to its 2011 level while barley production increased by 6 percent.