Inflation exacerbates daily struggles of Tunisians

Location: Tunis – Tunisia
Language: Arabic
Duration: 00:05:09
Sound: natural
Source: A24 in Tunisia
Restrictions: A24 subscribers
Date: 11/09/2022

Storyline:

The inflation rate in Tunisia rose during October and November to its highest level of 9.2%.

Food prices recorded an increase of 12.9%, which resulted in significant price increases of eggs by 33.3%, mutton by 21.1%, food oils by 20.8%, fresh vegetables by 18.5%, beef by 15.1% and poultry by 15%.

Economists believe that inflation in Tunisia has become a major problem, since the continuous monthly increase in prices that has been ongoing for more than a year is of detrimental repercussions on the daily lives of Tunisians.

• Soundbite (Mawlidi – Public Worker, has family of 3):
  “Prices used to be reasonable, but now they are very high. I wish prices would decline a bit. Today I bought fish only, and the prices were 40-50 Tunisian dinars (US$12-15.58). I was shocked at the prices of some vegetables; one kilo of pumpkins costs 5 dinars (US$1.55), kilo of potatoes costs 2 dinars (US$0.63), kilo of tomatoes costs 3 dinars (US$0.93), and kilo of peppers costs 2 dinars (US$0.63). I hope prices return to how they used to be so I can make my son happy.”

• Soundbite (Borawieh – Retired, lives with her son, who is a daily worker):
  “We can no longer keep up with the prices, even those with wages of more than 1,000 Tunisian dinars (US$312) cannot cover all their daily expenses. Life here in Tunisia has become very expensive, every morning we wake up to see prices have suddenly increased. People are no longer able to afford all daily needs.”.

• Soundbite (Omar – Citizen, father of four daughters):
  “Prices are fluctuating on a daily basis. Last week, fish prices were better than today. Prices of Vegetables and fruits are very high, one kilo of tomatoes costs 2 dinars (US$0.63). We buy what we need day by day.”

• Soundbite (Abdel Salam Al-Harshi – Economist):
  “Inflation in Tunisia rose twice in history above 10%, once in 1973 due to global events, namely the cutting off of oil from Western countries, and again in 1984 when it reached 17% due to a major crisis in Tunisia. The inflation rate now has exceeded 9% as a result of imported inflation, which has reached 70-80%. There is also a deficit of 19 billion dinars, which will reach 22 billion dinars by the end of 2022. Another reason for the high inflation is the inability of the Ministry of Commerce to implement price controls. The repercussions of inflation on Tunisians are detrimental, purchasing power has declined about 20% from the start of the pandemic until today. The government has no plans to support this sector, which further affects the purchasing power and safety status of the middle class in Tunisia