Tunis — Tunisia and Turkey have signed, Thursday in Tunis, 20 agreements and action plans in the fields of police training, information and communication technologies, mailing, fisheries, local administration, tourism and education.

These agreements were signed by Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh and Turkey’s Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the end of the first Tunisian-Turkish Higher Council for Strategic Co-operation meeting.

Memoranda of understanding were also signed between the two countries’ Foreign Ministries.

Besides, the two sides signed “the declaration of intent” regarding co-operation in the social field between Tunisian Social Affairs Ministry and Turkish Family and Social Policies Ministry.

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Pomegranate exports from the province of Gabes, Tunisia reached 1,0045 tons up to the first week of this month. Last year, over the corresponding period export volumes had reached just 928 tons, according to the Gabes Agricultural Development Commission.

The statistics do not reflect the true volume, however, as there is a lack of data on the amount of pomegranates that end up on the Libyan market.

The fruit has been reaching its traditional markets, in Europe and the Gulf, as well as new markets, including Sweden and Bangladesh. The harvest this year was a bumper one at over 28,000 tons.

Source: africanmanager.com

Tunisia has extended its qualification in the area of organic products continually over the last ten years. “Organic products, known under the hallmark Bio Tunisia are becoming more and more important on the local market and are being demanded by more and more on the international market as well,” as per Elke Peiler, project manager foodstuff sector of the German-Tunesian IHK.

Dates are a Tunisian trade mark and are closely linked to the North African country. Dates are the most important product bar one in the organic sector. In 2011, 6,000 tons of organic dates were harvested in Tunisia, of which 4,000 tons (67%) was exported. 68% of this went to Germany, 11% to the United States and 7% to Morocco.

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TUNISIA – Tunisia’s cereal production for the 2011/2012 season is projected to exceed 2.5 million MT, about eight per cent larger than production in the previous year, and about 50 per cent higher than average.

Area planted with cereal crops this year is estimated at about 10 per cent lower than the area planted last year, but the average yield is projected to be higher due to sufficient rainfall and favorable weather conditions during the cereal growing season. Agricultural analysts believe that the government’s estimate for total grain production of 2.5 million MT is highly optimistic. It is reported that Tunisia has sufficient stocks to cover wheat market needs for two months. Tunisia will continue to rely on imports to satisfy at least 30 per cent of its wheat consumption. In May, Tunisia purchased 75,000 MT of soft wheat.

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Tunisia continues to give a special interest to organic farming, promoting the sector thanks to the taking over the past 11 years of a number of key decisions.

In 1999, a technical center specializing in organic farming was created, to serve as a central mechanism and reference material.
In October 13, 2000 an awareness program on organic agriculture was developed to enhance the incentives and mechanisms set up in this sector.
A strategy of organic farming through the promotion of a sustainable program was set up in May 12, 2005. In 2006, a study was conducting aiming at identifying pilot areas specializing in organic farming.

In 2010, the maximum annual grant on the control and certification for producers members of development groups, cooperatives and professional groups increase from 5000 to reach 10,000 dinars per year.

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