18 June 2016
Reported industrial investments edged up 21% in the past five months, reaching 1,429.6 Million Tunisian Dinars (MTD), according to statistics published by the Industry Ministry.

They are mainly reported investments in mechanical and electrical industries which recorded a rise by 120%, to 351.1 MTD, following the reported extension of a totally-exporting aeronautics unit worth 67.6 MTD and a second plane-structure manufacturing unit (35.6 MTD), the creation of a totally-exporting foundry (25 MTD) and extension of a surface treatment unit (14 MTD).

Besides, reported investments in the food industry have increased by 51.1% to 555 MTD, after recording investment intentions in several projects like tomatoe conservation, soft drinks, pasta, milk and dairy products, etc.

Reported investment in the chemical industries sector grew 4.7% to 117.6 MTD, after the reported creation of a pharmaceutical production unit (9.8 MTD) and the extension of a gas production unit (7.7 MTD).

However, investment intentions dropped in the textile and clothing industries by 42.9% to 55.4 MTD and by 58.5% to 5.4 MTD in the leather and footwear industries as well as in the building materials sector (-23.5% to 173 MTD).

As regard foreign direct investment, the industry sector attracted 176 MTD by the end of April, up by 4.6% compared with 2015, the double of investments registered during the same period in 2014 (84.3 MTD).

Industry contributed by means of 91% to the domestic commodity exports, as industrial exports reached 10.685 MTD, in slight rise of 1.2% compared with 2015 and this inspite of the fall by 47.1% in the food industry exports, due to the drop in olive oil exports.

This rise is due to the increase by 8.2% to 5.158 MTD in the exports of mechanical and electrical industries, notably the export of transformers, cables and spare parts.

The same upward tendency for the textile-clothing exports +3.7%, thanks to the rise of external sales of cloth and ready-made and those of leather and footwear (+7.2%).

The exports of chemical industry also rose 43.4% with the increase in phosphoric acid sales by 192% and ammonium diphosphate and the super triphosphate by 87% and the growth in the export of concentrated aromatic oils and perfumes by 24.1% and various industries like plastics, furniture and others by 16.2%.

© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2016