Page 62 - rapport ommp2018

e d i t o r i a l

National economic activity continued to grow at a modest positive cadency during 2018 and several indicators, witness to this moderate
recovery. Indeed, this economic growth is estimated at 2.6% for this year against 1.9% in 2017, and 1% in 2016 according to the data
published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), despite the global debts of the Tunisian state reached 81.3 billion dinars, accounting
for 77% of GDP in 2018 compared to 70.3% in 2017 and 40% in 2010. The debt ratio is expected to rise again in 2019

Otherwise, the recovery of the activity relies heavily on a much better situation of agriculture and fisheries together with the recovery of
tourism whose growth is respectively (+ 9.8%) against (+ 4.9% in 2017), as for tourism, Tunisia registered an increase of 17.4% compared to
2017, reaching 7.5 million tourists with a difference of + 0.5% compared to the reference year 2010.

The transport sector, closely correlated to tourism, has also been able to achieve positive growth.Thus, market services, registered a 3.3%
growth rate during the year 2018.

For the manufacturing and non-market services sector, they registered slight increases of 0.3% each in 2018 compared to 0.5% and 0.7%
respectively in the previous year.

Regarding the manufacturing sector, the progress affected the majority of sectors in 2018 (food, textiles, clothing, leather and footwear,
mechanical and electrical industries, etc.) except that of chemical industries was down 7.6% against -0.6% in the same period last year.

As for the extraction of oil that displays recent years a significant decrease returns to positive side. Although this growth remains insuffi-
cient to make up for the losses of the past years. In addition, mines continue to underperform. However, the slowdown in the dynamics of
phosphate activity remains below pre-2010 rates, which significantly affects our exports.

LITTLE EXPOTATIONS, MUCH IMPORTATION!

Exports resumed their prosperity but imports rise faster than exports despite a depreciation of the exchange rate. Our exports increased
by 19.9% during 2018. As for our imports, their values increased by 20.1%. Although these gaps are very small, they probably have a
cyclical component that can mitigate but its size deserves attention.
In addition, port traffic in Tunisia registered an increase of exports reaching 11.5 million tons and a stability of imports to reach 18.2 million
tons.

As a result, trade in Tunisia reached 30.7 million tons, an increase of 8% compared to 2017. This increase is felt mainly in hydrocarbons
handled from the ports of Bizerte and La Skhira and at the level of other bulk notably the traffic in clinker at the ports of La Goulette,
Gabes and Bizerte and the salt traffic.
As for container traffic, it registered an increase in the number of TEUs (493 thousand 20 '' containers), which is 3% compared to the
previous year. This increase is felt mainly at the ports of Sousse and Sfax.

Despite all the economic difficulties, for the first time since the reference year 2010, the year 2018 was closed by an increase of + 1% in
the level of the commercial ports traffic.

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