The food trade balance deficit widened by the end of April to 574.4 million dinars from 3.2 million in the same period last year. Consequently, the coverage rate fell from 99.8% in April 2020 to 75.3% in April 2021, according to a food trade balance document published by the National Observatory of Agriculture. (French: ONAGRI).
This deficit is the result of the value of food exports decreasing 7.4%, particularly olive oil exports (-22.8%) against an increase in imports (+22.7%), especially grain imports (+ 20%). Grain prices (soft wheat, barley and corn) continued to increase in April 2021 compared to a slight deceleration of olive oil prices.