Tunisia grapples with economic crisis and food scarcity

In drought-stricken Tunisia, months-long shortages of key food staples and the rising cost of living have left the population feeling desperate and uncertain about the future.

A worsening economic crisis, poor harvests and reduced imports have led to empty supermarket shelves and an increase in the cost of available goods.

Food prices rose by almost 12 per cent this year, Tunisia’s National Statistics Institute said, with the highest increases reported for coffee (35 per cent), cooking oil (29 per cent) and lamb (28 per cent).

Although the overall inflation rate fell to 8.3 per cent in November – from 10.4 per cent in February – it remains high for food and families have felt the pinch.

Over the past year, has tracked the cost of basic goods in the north African country – witnessing the price of 1kg of beef increasing by almost $1 since January – but, crucially, also reporting a shortage of rice and bread since March and April respectively.

Continuing drought has affected Tunisia’s agriculture, increasing reliance on imports and putting further pressure on the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves.

The war in Ukraine has also pushed up global food prices.

Subsidised staple goods and medicines have become increasingly scarce, suggesting problems financing imports and driving up prices of non-subsidised, available products.

Tunisia’s struggling agricultural yield combined with a shortage of subsidised semolina and flour have led to a fivefold increase in the price of bread – the country’s main food staple.

Other food, including rice and pasta, have either completely disappeared from supermarket shelves or experienced periodic shortages and regular price hikes.

The shortages and subsequent price increases have led some suppliers to smuggle in goods from Algeria and Libya to sell in border towns.

Earlier this year, thousands of Tunisian trade unionists took to the streets to protest over their worsening economic woes and soaring cost of living.

Families now brace themselves for the disappearance of goods once taken as cornerstones of Tunisian dining.

Husband and wife Chokri and Saadia own a small shop in Tunis selling mlawi, a thin flat bread made of fine semolina. The National first spoke to the couple in May, when the government’s inability to pay for essential cereal supplies caused an extreme shortage of semolina and flour.

Seven months later, the couple continue to struggle to access basic foods, including cereal-based products and dairy.

“If you tell us adults that there is no milk, it’s fine, we can live without it,” Saadia asked, in front of her family’s shop in a popular neighbourhood on the outskirts of El Aouina suburb. “But what should I do when my four-year-old daughter wakes up in the middle of the night crying for a warm cup of milk?”

Since semolina and flour supplies are still fluctuating, Saadia and her husband have resorted to cooking and selling other Tunisian dishes such as couscous and kafteji to keep their family fed.

Dairy products have also been in short supply with milk shortages reported throughout the country.

Over the past year, Tunisians have also experienced an extreme increase in the cost of other basics including rent, petrol and private health care.

The government is struggling to reassure its increasingly frustrated population as families are forced to abandon even simple necessities.

Shortages and price increases have led some suppliers to smuggle in goods to sell in border towns