Tunisia’s trade deficit expands to 10.4 billion dinars amid rising imports

According to data from Tunisia’s National Institute of Statistics for January‑May 2026, the country’s exports reached 28.17 billion dinars, a 5 % increase over the same period in 2025, while imports climbed 9.6 % to 38.59 billion dinars. The trade gap widened to 10.42 billion dinars, up from 8.37 billion dinars a year earlier, and the import‑coverage ratio fell to 73 % from 76.2 %.

Export growth was driven by agro‑food products (+20 % largely from olive‑oil sales), energy (+37.7 %) and mechanical/electrical goods (+6.1 %). By contrast, phosphate exports dropped 31.8 % and textiles, clothing and leather fell 6.2 %. The European Union remained the dominant market, accounting for 71.5 % of Tunisian overseas sales (20.13 billion dinars), with notable increases to France (+6.7 %) and Italy (+3.5 %). Exports to Egypt more than doubled (+110 %) and to Saudi Arabia rose 59.9 %. Sales to Morocco, Algeria and Libya slipped 37.7 %, 26 % and 20.5 % respectively.

On the import side, the EU stayed the main supplier at 44.2 % of total imports (17.05 billion dinars). Purchases from France (+17.3 %) and Italy (+10.7 %) grew, while those from Belgium (‑2 %) and Spain (‑3 %) fell slightly. Imports from India (+23.6 %) and Turkey (+6.2 %) rose, whereas those from Russia dropped 40.1 % and from China fell 1.9 %.