Against 7.4 million quintals, during the past season.
The cereal harvest in Tunisia during the 2022/2023 season is expected to reach around 2.5 million quintals, compared to 7.4 million quintals during the past season, said the member of the executive office of the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), in charge of field crops, Mohamed Rjaibia.
In a statement to the Tunis Afrique Presse agency (TAP/Officiel), Mohamed Rjaibia explained that the downward revision of the preliminary harvest estimates (3.4 million quintals) is due to the rise in temperatures recorded at the end of March. last and the scarcity of precipitation.
UTAP had asked the Ministry of Agriculture last Saturday to speed up the payment of premiums and to consider an exceptional increase in the purchase price of cereals from collectors.
During a meeting between the Minister, Abdelmonem Belati, and a delegation from UTAP, the two parties notably examined the impact of the drought on the agricultural sector and the current situation of water resources, characterized by a drop in the filling rate of dams due to reduced rainfall.
It should be noted that Tunisia’s cereal needs vary between 28 and 30 million quintals per year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries.
