After the soaring import bill, shortages persist in Tunisia

For almost a year now, Tunisia has been experiencing a series of shortages of essential foodstuffs such as sugar, semolina, flour and rice. The Tunisian government is facing an economic crisis, drastically reducing the capacity to import goods and services.

The country’s public debt has risen from 40.7% of G.D.P. in 2010 to 79.9% in 2021. Added to this is price inflation due to the war in Ukraine: in 2022, the rise in commodity prices led to a 63% increase in the trade deficit, which reached...