Tunis- Rising concerns in Tunisia over possible impact of Russian-Ukrainian war on the country’s economy

Location: Tunis- Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Voice: Natural

Duration: 00:05:08

Source: A24

Restrictions: A24 Clients

Dateline: 25-02-2022

Storyline

Tunisian political analysis and citizens voiced their concerns over the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the overall world economies and Tunisia’s economy in particular that is already falling apart.  They said Tunisia is largely dependent on Ukraine for its reserve of basic commodities including oil and grain, prompting concerns over a shortage of the country’s stockpile and a possible hike in prices if the war continues to rage in Ukraine.

shotlist

-SOUNBITE: Muhammad Boaud, poltical analyst.

‘Tunisia ,along with other countries,  is not spared from the consequences of this war as it relies on importing wheat from Ukraine and Russia. The crisis now also extends to the gas and oil markets worldwide. Despite claims made by the Ministry of Trade here in Tunisia that country has sufficient grain reserve until July, it is wise to rationalize our expenditure and consumption of  the basic commodities. This, I believe, is the only way to cope with the repercussions of the war in Ukraine until we can rely on other markets or the war comes to end.’’

-SOUNDBITE: AlTuhami, resident.

‘’wars are filthy wherein no one is proclaimed victorious defeated. Wars impose wide international consequences including on our economy here in Tunisia. This will probably lead to austerity measures and, therefore, we should spend our money wisely. As a precautionary measure, those who normally spend 100 Dinars should now spend 50 and those who normally spend 50 should cut it down to 25. The prices of basic commodities and medicines will see sharp hikes.’’

-SOUNDBITE: Khalil, resident.

‘’The war on Ukraine will definitely have its toll on Tunisia, North African and Arab countries as well as other countries. Why I am saying this is because Ukraine and Russia together produce roughly 33% of the world’s overall production of wheat. We now cannot import wheat because of the war especially if know that roughly 60-70% of Ukrainian wheat is produced in Ukraine’s eastern province of Donbas, where fighting is now raging. We cannot import European wheat because it is expensive. However, we have alternative markets to rely on including Mexico, Argentina, Canada and the United States. As they say in English: time is gold so it is now the right time to discuss our import options with these countries. Tunisia will not be affected by the shortage of gas as it produces gas. There has to be a strategic discussion of our situation and time is essential so we should discuss our options with other countries as soon as possible.  We should also think of ways to revitalize our farming and agricultural sector over a period of 10-30 years.’’

-SOUNDBITE: Ali, resident.

‘’ The war in Ukraine does affect us especially in the farming sector as we rely on Russia and Ukraine for grain imports. This will also affect the whole world.  Tunisia was once called green Tunisia for its large production of grain. Where is our grain today? Our production of grain was burnt and replaced with imports when Al-Shahid was in power from 2015-2017.’’

-SOUNDBITE: Saeed, resident.

‘’ Yes we will be affected by the current war. Tunisia is a small country and already has a difficult economic burden to deal with.’’

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