Economy

Record deficit: Tunisia’s trade deals in numbers

January 13, 2023, 4:33 PM

Tunisia posted a record 55 percent increase in its trade deficit in 2022, reaching TND 25.2 billion ($8.18 billion), according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics.

As the North African country battles an economic crisis, the deficit increase was attributed largely to the loss of trade with several key countries, including China, Turkey, Algeria, Russia, Italy and Spain.

Country	2022 trade deficit (in Tunisian dinar)
China	8.5bn
Turkey	3.9bn
Algeria	3.9bn
Russia	2.7bn
Italy	2.3bn

However, the trade balance in goods recorded a surplus with some other countries, mainly France, Germany and Libya.

Country	2022 trade surplus (in Tunisian dinar)
France	4.4bn
Germany	2.9bn
Libya	1.8bn

The trade balance deficit, excluding energy, narrowed to minus TND 14.6 billion. The energy balance deficit stood at minus TND 10.5 billion (41.9 percent of the total deficit).

Exports grew by 23.4 percent to TND 57.5 billion, and this rise covers several sectors:

Sector	2022 export growth
Mines, phosphates and derivatives	56.1%
Energy	49.9%
Agro-food industries	34.1%
Textiles, clothing and leather	21%
Mechanical and electrical industries	14.5%

Tunisian exports to the EU – which make up 67.5 percent of the country’s total exports – were up by 18.7 percent.

Exports to Algeria, meanwhile, were up 54.4 percent and to Libya, up by 36.5 percent.

Imports from the EU – which made up 44.2 percent of the country’s total imports – posted a 21.9 percent rise to TND 3.5 billion. Imports grew by 15.9 percent from France, 41.3 percent from Italy and 9.3 percent from Germany.

Imports recorded faster growth at a rate of 31.7 percent against 22 percent in 2021, reaching TND 82.8 billion.