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Tunisia– A clash of hands and an intense stampede in the major shops, in the city of Majel Bel Abbes, one of the local government centers in the Kasserine Governorate in central western Tunisia, to get a carton of milk or a bag of sugar, while long queues extend in front of the bakeries that close their doors early due to the major shortage of these two ingredients. Semolina and farina (flour).
These scenes have become normal in most Tunisian governorates, despite the reassurance messages that the government sends from time to time, that there are imported basic materials that will arrive at Tunisia’s ports, but they have not arrived yet, which raises continuous fears among citizens about the increasing severity of the economic crisis that the country is witnessing. .
Widespread criticism
The extreme cold did not prevent the people of the border city from waiting since the early hours of the morning in front of a store, where many fights broke out between the long queues, leading to a number of them being injured due to the struggle over priority in obtaining a bag of semolina, amid angry reactions about the limited quantities and their scarcity. .
In his interview with Al Jazeera Net, the forty-year-old citizen, Reda Shabani, complained about the lack and scarcity of some materials, saying, “You have to wake up early and be in the front rows and ready to attack to get a bag of sugar, or a carton of milk. The scene here is like a wrestling ring,” sarcastically: “This is Tunisia.” 2023″.
For her part, Ahlam Haji says that she has begun to leave her job, to wait long hours in front of a store until a truck arrives at any time, and amidst the crowding and confusion, she may end up with a carton of milk or she may not get anything, wondering: We do not know how long it will last. This daily hardship and suffering?
Most of the citizens we spoke to agree that some shops impose other foodstuffs as a condition for obtaining one of the missing basic materials, such as semolina, flour, sugar, and vegetable oil, while others deliberately sell them at double their prices, despite the censorship and economic sanctions imposed by the Tunisian authorities.
At the end of last week, Minister of Trade and Export Development Kulthum bin Rajab confirmed, in media statements, the existence of irregularities in some sugar distribution rings for family consumption at a subsidized price, from which the unorganized sector benefits.
Shortage of inventory
The year 2023 was not better than the previous two years in terms of the loss of basic consumer goods such as coffee, sugar, milk and semolina, which worsened after the arrival of the current president. Kais Saied To the See of Carthage, he announced exceptional measures, changed the system of government, and headed a new government.
Economist Aram Belhaj considers that the crisis goes beyond accusing powerful lobbies of starving Tunisians, as President Saied believes, to the inefficiency of governments after the revolution in creating a clear economic vision to deal with global economic changes, especially the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine.
Belhaj says that there is a shortage in the strategic stock of grains, which is only sufficient for a maximum of 3 months, adding that this shortage is linked to several external factors, in addition to financial factors, the inability of the Tunisian state to rescue suppliers, and its inability to finance farmers.
For his part, economic expert Reda Al-Shakandali said, in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, that the shortage of milk was due to farmers’ reluctance to raise cows, due to the high cost of the value of the supplied feed, especially in light of the decline in the value of the Tunisian dinar against the dollar and the euro.
He adds that the strategic reserve has been eroded, due to the Tunisian state’s inability to mobilize its external resources of hard currency, and to opt for the option of repaying its external debts, while reducing the supply of some raw materials, and the state withdrawing liquidity from banks to finance its internal borrowing.
Grain stocks
In this context, Shukri Rizqi, Vice President in charge of agricultural production at the Farmers’ and Fisheries Union (Farmers’ Union), told Al Jazeera Net that the year 2022/2023 is the worst year historically for grain production, as the production rate (grains) reached two million and 900 thousand quintals, of which 900 were cut. One thousand quintals were used for regular and premium seeds, while the remainder was directed to grinding.
He adds that the size of the crops of this food item to cover the country’s total consumer needs is sufficient for only 3 months, which prompts the country to import more grains from foreign markets, stressing that the country’s total consumer needs annually amount to about 3 million tons of grains.
Experts in economic affairs believe that this situation will have a negative impact on the food bill of Tunisia, which is considered one of the largest importers of grains in North Africa, as the available alternatives are very narrow, with the continued faltering of negotiations with… International Monetary Fund To obtain financing worth $1.9 million.
According to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics from the third quarter of 2023, the inflation rate reached 8.3%, while the unemployment rate reached 15.8%.
Government failure
Amid this foggy scene, economic expert Aram Bel Hajj, speaking to Al Jazeera Net, believes that Saied’s government, which says every time that it has seized tons of consumer goods, is still unable to end the tension and anxiety in the Tunisian street, warning of the difficult economic situation during the coming period.
Belhaj believes that the ongoing crisis in the shortage of basic foodstuffs is evidence of the failure of President Saied’s government to develop solutions to address the economic crisis, noting that all indicators of monopoly and weak economic oversight indicate an imminent economic collapse.
Belhaj stresses that it is necessary to digitize the distribution routes for subsidized materials as soon as possible, impose strict control on the milk and fodder production system, and impose strict penalties against monopolists.
Tunisian President Kais Saied rejects what he calls “dictations,” especially with regard to lifting subsidies on some basic consumer items and restructuring state institutions that are facing difficulties, criticizing private banks, which he considered to be making huge profits and must help rebuild the country’s economy.
