Imported olive oil prices rise as fire devastates European crops

Virgin olive oil prices are expected to rocket as crops have been hit by poor weather and devastating wildfires. Italian and Greek farmers are struggling this year, with their harvest down by nearly 60 per cent in some areas, while a smaller crop from Tunisia means worldwide production is set to dip 10 per cent. Wholesale prices of European extra virgin olive oil have already soared from €3,000 (R50 234) a ton to €6,000 (R100 000) a ton, in spite of a bigger than normal crop of Spanish olives.  In…

2019 draft budget does not include new taxes  

The 2019 draft budget does not include new taxes on citizens the year to come and will cut the tax burden for some sectors to boost growth, a draft budget revealed. Besides, the 2019 finance bill pointed out the growth of the Tunisian economy in 2019 by 3.1 %. Estimates showed a jump 2.6 % against 1.9 % last year. The finance bill indicated that the 2019 budget would be 8% bigger than this year, totalling some 40.6 billion Tunisian dinars ($14.21 billion). Additionally, the budget deficit is declining to…

Tunisia hands 242 hectares of state land to jobless youths

 Minister of State Property and Real Estate Affairs, , handed over 242 hectares of state-owned land to unemployed Tunisian youths. At a visit to El Kef governorate, the minister handed over the land to the mayor of the governorate. The land included 108 hectares for university graduates  134 hectares for those who do not have degrees. The land is to be distributed in the four neighbourhoods of Touiref, Dahamani, Ksour and Sers. The direction to distribute the land was signed by the Minister of State Property and Real Estate Affairs, as well as the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources…

Tunisia, Germany ink USD1.9b investment deals

Tunisia and Germany were announced to have inked five investment deals on various fields at a value of around USD1.9 billion. The five documents were secured during a trip to Tunisia made by Gerd Muller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. The agreements Tunisia and Germany penned were unveiled to be covering areas of employment, dairy industry, tourism and textiles. The two sides supported their tough economic cooperation by signing two memorandums of understanding. TunisianMonitorOnline (NAFNAF)

IFC to provide EUR 40m for sustainable energy financing in Tunisia

Tunisia-based Attijari Bank will get EUR 40 million (USD 46.4m) in debt from the International Finance Corp (IFC) to support climate-related projects and smaller businesses. The bank, part of the  Attijariwafa bank Group, will also use the funds from the subordinated loan to improve its capital base and expand its lending activities, the IFC said this week. It noted this is its first loan for the Tunisian bank. The financing will be offered to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developing sustainable energy projects. “Tunisia’s sustainable energy financing market is nascent but…

Olive Oil Production Up More Than 25 Percent, Consumption Edges Higher

Provisional data analyzed by the International Olive Council (IOC) forecasts a 28 percent increase of olive oil production this year compared with last. Global production reached 3,315,000 tons in the 2017/2018 crop year, although the data is only provisional.– International Olive Council The data, which was provided by both member and non-member countries, indicate the global production will reach 3,315,000 tons for the 2017/18 crop year, an increase of 723,500 tons compared with last year. Tunisia experienced the largest increase, producing 280,000 tons, which was a 180-percent increase compared with last year.…

Digital banking, decashing, mobile payment and open banking theme of Seminar in UTICA

A seminar on “the development of digital banking and payment means,” was organised Tuesday at the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) headquarters. The gathering focused on the development of urgent proposals to encourage digital banking transactions, with a view to their integration into the 2019 finance law. It also aims to provide a platform for exchange between the various economic players involved in payment means and electronic exchange, to discuss and agree on the actions to be taken as regards decashing, mobile payment and open banking. President…

In Tunisia, tourists back, but revenues do not follow

More than six million tourists are coming to Tunisia this year, more than in 2014, before a series of devastating attacks: but if tourism rebounded, the economic benefits do not follow, between poor management, competition, and difficulty in repatriating foreign currency. The tourism revenues in euros increased by 28% year on year, from 1 January to 20 September, to eur 1 billion, for 6.2 million tourists, according to the tunisian government. This is more tourists than the whole of the year 2014 (6,07) but, at the same time, less than…

North Africa This Week: Startup Events Glimpses [1st-7th October, 2018]

This past week saw the North African startup ecosystem play host to some events that can be thought to be aimed at furthering the growth of entrepreneurship and business in the region. The African tech startup ecosystem seems to be witnessing something of a renaissance as the number of tech-driven enterprises on the continent has grown considerably in the past few years. The North African region remains unrelenting in its contributions to the ecosystem as it has seen a remarkable proliferation of tech startups in several sectors, as well as…

Tunis Stock Exchange, a new member of the World Federation of Exchanges

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has formalized the membership of the Tunis Stock Exchange as a full member, at its 58th Annual General Meeting held in Athens, on October 3rd, 2018. After Correspondent and Affiliate statuses, Membership status marks the completion of a long process and a on-site peer review carried out by a team comprised of Nasdaq, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Bermuda Stock Exchange representatives in February 2018, that led to a positive report to the Board of Directors of the WFE meeting in June 2018. This evaluation confirmed that…