Posted on March, 18, 2025 at 07:04 pm
The Cereals Office of Tunisia is planning to construct 120,000 tonnes of grain storage (soft wheat, durum wheat and barley) and renovate silos built since 1985 that hold 206,000 tonnes to ensure sufficient stocks under a program that is part the country’s grain sector reforms.
Salwa Benhadid Zouari, president and directory general of the Cereals Office, a public company that oversees the country’s grains supply under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, discussed the plans during a video interview with Tunis Africa News Agency.
The new silos will be situated in Rades with capacity of 40,000 tonnes, Sousse (58,000 tonnes) and Sfax (38,000), Zouari said. The new silos are expected to cost about TND 205 million ($66.6 million) and the renovations about TND 143 million ($44.5 million). Silo renovations will be carried out gradually to ensure the continuity of the country's grain supply, Zouari said.
“It is very important to have sufficient grain storage capacity to accommodate the collected grain quantity and preserve it in good conditions,” Zouari said, adding that new storage capacities also will allow the appropriate purchase and storage of grain through opportunities in the international markets.
The Cereals Office’s nationwide storage infrastructure currently has a total capacity of 508,000 tonnes, including silos leased from the private sector.
With better winter rains than in recent years, the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (FAS) forecast marketing year 2024-25 wheat production at 1.25 million tonnes and barley production at 600,000 tonnes for the North African nation of about 12 million people.
Wheat consumption is forecast at 2.89 million tonnes, while barley consumption was pegged at 1.08 million tonnes. To cover demand while maintaining stock levels, the FAS forecast Tunisia’s imports for 2024-25 at 1.8 million tonnes for wheat and 500,000 tonnes for barley imports are forecast.
Source: World Grain