Tunisia will raise the prices of some foods, including milk, eggs and poultry, this week, the agriculture minister says, following farmers’ protests over a price hike for barley for animal feed due to the war in Ukraine and an increase in energy costs.
Unions warn that the wave of repeated price increases and falling purchasing power amid a severe economic crisis could lead to protests that authorities may not be able to control.
Last month, the government also raised fuel prices by 5%, the third hike this year.
Tunisia will raise local fuel prices each month this year by as much as three percent, an energy ministry official told Reuters last month, which could mean an increase of at least 30 percent by the end of 2022.
Over the past two days, farmers in several regions have protested the high cost of animal feed, with some cutting roads, while others pouring milk into the streets and threatening to cut production.
“We will announce on Thursday, May 12, a revision of the prices of eggs, poultry, and milk in order to guarantee the profit margin of the producers,” Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Elyess Hamza said on Wednesday.
“The Tunisian consumer must support the Tunisian farmer because the farmer is a pillar of Tunisian food security in this delicate situation in the world,” he added.
The country, in the grip of a deep financial crisis, was hit hard by a rise in world wheat prices resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The impact of rising wheat and oil prices on Tunisia’s budget will be slightly less at around $1.7 billion this year, Economy Minister Samir Saied told Reuters in March.
