With two months to go before the start of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the beginning of March, Tunisian date exporters are gearing up to meet the occasional surge in demand. Ghazi Rouissi, CEO of the House of Dates, reports a special situation this year.
Ghazi says, "The situation is tricky this year in Tunisia, and also in Algeria, in terms of production. We had several cycles of heavy rains between August and November, which caused more fermentation and infestation than usual. The August rains, just before harvest, were very damaging. As a result, volumes are down by 30-40% and it's harder to source quality dates."
"The rains were also accompanied by temperature swings, and all this increased the cost of production. We have to do more sorting and it's complicated to remove dates with non-apparent infestation and fermentation," the exporter continues.
According to the grower, demand will therefore exceed supply for Ramadan 2025: "We won't be able to supply all our customers or 100% of the quantities ordered. We will prioritize our traditional markets, especially the Moroccan market this Ramadan. On the other hand, there will be fewer exports to Europe and the Americas."
Ghazi explains this choice: "The Moroccan market is flexible and accessible, and has maintained stable demand for a long time. It's also a historic market for Tunisian traders, and the human bonds go beyond business. I visited the Derb Milan date market in Casablanca in December and found that demand for Tunisian dates will be interesting this Ramadan in terms of volumes, although prices are a little disappointing."
Ghazi concludes, "Prices will increase by 10-15% compared with last season, due to lost volumes and higher production costs. But even so, the increase barely covers our losses, and we'd like to see prices adjusted."
For more information:
Ghazi Rouissi
The House of Dates
Tel: +216 20 305 240
Email: [email protected]
www.thehouseofdates.com