The National Institute of Statistics in Tunisia revealed that the trade deficit rose to a record level of 25.21 billion dinars ($8.14 billion) in 2022, compared to 16.216 billion dinars ($5.24 billion) in 2021.
The institute attributed the increase in the deficit to the acceleration of the growth of imports, which amounted to 31.7 percent, most of which were imports of the energy sector, which grew by 83.1 percent, and raw and semi-manufactured materials, which increased by 33 percent. On the other hand, exports witnessed a lower growth rate of 23.4 percent. The trade deficit until last November was only about $7.4 billion.
"The government is working to set a date with the International Monetary Fund to present its file related to a $1.9 billion loan program," said Tunisian Finance Minister Nemsia Al-Ghadiri.
Tunisia reached an agreement at the expert level with the IMF on the loan program, which will be paid in installments over 48 months. The fund's board of directors was supposed to issue a decision regarding it at its meeting in mid-December, but the board decided at the meeting to postpone consideration of the Tunisia file to a date yet to be determined, at a time when the public finance crisis is exacerbating.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
