Tunisian wheat shortage leads to fears that bakeries will close
Husband and wife Chokri and Saadia have a lingering fear that their four young children will wake up crying for food.
Tunisia is enduring another shortage of wheat products, including semolina and flour.
It has been six months since the couple built a small shop selling mlawi – a thin flatbread made of very fine semolina – outside their home in a popular neighbourhood on the outskirts of El Aouina in Tunis.
“We barely managed to get two 10kg semolina bags yesterday,” Chokri told The National.
“They [the provider] refused to give us more, not only because of the shortage, but also because we do not have a business licence yet.”
Chokri said the lack of licence was not a problem when semolina was widely stocked but now there is a shortage providers are under pressure and they need to abide by the law.
“You have no idea the time and effort I need to put in, in order to turn the semolina we got to a fine one that we could use to work,” Saadia said, showing blisters on her hand caused by kneading bread for a day.
Their job became harder as they were able to get their hands on only thick semolina, which is not easy to work with when making mlawi.
“A friend of mine told me that he had to resort to soaking couscous in water overnight and adding the small amount of semolina they got in the morning to keep his business going,” Chokri said.
Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday accused “known parties”, which he did not identify, of provoking a bread shortage crisis in the country.
He urged officials to find a solution for fear of a domino effect on other products.
“Honestly, if the President cannot find a solution to the situation, who else is supposed to?” Saadia said.
“They [officials] need to understand that the citizen is their responsibility … we are tired of their empty words.”
Other bakery owners share the same concerns. “There is certainly a delay in providing us with what we need,” Kais Menejja, owner of a bakery in the Taieb Mhiri neighbourhood in El Aouina, told The National.
Mr Menejja said despite attempts to use the designated quota he receives from the Tunisian cereal office, working conditions became stressful due to the continuing shortage.
Ridha Touil, who owns bakeries in El Aouina and Ben Arous, told The National one of his bakeries would permanently close within two days because of the lack of reserves.
“I know at least three bakeries that have closed down since they ran out of flour,” he said.
He notified the Ministry of Commerce that his business could close within a day or two but no solution was provided.