The rise in food prices is no longer a preoccupation for Tunisians, in light of a new crisis related to the loss of basic materials subsidized from the market, such as sugar, flour and oil, at a time when experts warned that food security has become threatened with Tunisia importing more than 80% of its wheat needs from Ukraine. Russia and Europe.

With the approach of the blessed month of Ramadan, many merchants with whom Al Jazeera spoke do not hide their fears of interruptions in the supply of basic materials such as oil, sugar, flour, flour, eggs and rice, despite government assurances.

Lack of fortified materials

Nidal Ibrahim, the owner of a commercial space, confirms that the eagerness he witnessed this month on the part of Tunisians and their desire to buy and store basic materials, especially pasta (pasta, pasta and their derivatives) and oil, despite their high prices, was not familiar to him in the past months, and attributed it to concerns about the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The unprecedented demand for purchase was confirmed by an official at the Tunisian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement to the local media, considering that the sales pattern related to sugar and rice witnessed in the first week of March an increase of nearly 100%, which made these materials disappear from the market at a time Brief.

The Tunisian president had announced a few days ago, during his meeting with the Minister of the Interior, that he was waging a "relentless war" against the monopolists and those who manipulate the people's power, considering that the shortage of foodstuffs is an effective act to strike the social peace in the country.

Economists warned that addressing the food shortage crisis is not achieved by adopting a security approach and launching random campaigns against merchants and storage spaces, even legal ones, but rather with economic plans that include the involvement of all overlapping structures and ministries away from the logic of conspiracies.

An unprecedented turnout of Tunisians to buy pastries such as pasta and its derivatives in anticipation of the cereal crisis (Al Jazeera)

A government decision to reduce the supply of wheat

And the former Minister of Trade, Mohsen Hassan - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - believes that the loss of basic materials from the Tunisian markets, especially pastries and bread, is not all contrived, but part of that is due to an undeclared government decision to reduce the supply of wheat to mills by 20%.

The former minister attributed this decision to the state's inability to pay its dues from purchases of wheat imported from abroad, warning in the same context of a food security crisis if the state did not take its precautions in light of the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

He continued, "Tunisia imports 84% ​​of its soft wheat needs and 50% of its hard wheat from Ukraine, Russia, Canada and the European Union countries, and there is a real fear of a shortage of this material in light of Russia and Ukraine announcing the suspension of exports."

Hassan urged the government to find real alternatives with regard to importing wheat, and to search for solutions for foreign ships laden with tons of wheat and anchored for months in Tunisian ports due to the state's inability to redeem it in hard currency, as well as the weak storage capacity.

The series of security raids on the stores of goods and foodstuffs prompted the merchants and their union structures to utter a cry of panic, warning of a number of deviations that marred the campaign and included legal stores under the pretext of anti-monopoly.

And the "National Chamber of Wholesale Food Traders" warned - in an official statement - that the continued intimidation and distortion of traders will have serious repercussions on this main cycle of distribution, the citizen's livelihood, and the economic fabric as a whole.

The Chamber of Trade Unions demanded the Ministry of Commerce to develop final solutions to overcome the severe shortage of subsidized foodstuffs. It also demanded that the state structures and the people be frank about the difficult situation the country is experiencing, which has led to a significant shortage of basic materials, especially subsidized ones.

High rates of inflation

In a related development, the National Institute of Statistics in Tunisia announced that the inflation rate for the month of January 2022 had risen to 6.7%, to continue the rate of rise for the fourth time in a row, amid warnings by experts of reaching record numbers in light of a global political and economic crisis.

And financial expert Aram Belhaj said - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that a rise in the inflation rate was expected due to the rise in the prices of raw materials on a global scale, which will result in a decrease in the purchasing power of the citizen and a decline in the Tunisian dinar against foreign currencies.

Belhadj warned of what he described as a situation of "stagflation" accompanied by very weak economic growth that complicates economic recovery operations, acknowledging the difficult situation, and called on the government to take urgent measures in the field of monitoring distribution channels and preserving the purchasing power of citizens.

It is noteworthy that the international credit rating agency “Fitch Ratings” announced on Friday the reduction of Tunisia’s sovereign rating to “CCC” with negative prospects, and the agency explained that this reduction is due to the increase in external financial liquidity risks in light of the delay in the country’s conclusion of a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund. .