Tunisia - Citrus production in the governorate of Nabeul is expected to fall by 20% compared to last year (180,000 tonnes), said the president of the local agricultural union in Béni Khaled, Béchir Aounallah.

Production in the 2022 citrus season is already 30% below the total production average of the last five years (350,000 tonnes), he pointed out.

Citrus cultivation in the Nabeul governorate covers 20,000 hectares, according to the same source.

Aounallah attributed the decline to a number of factors, including a lack of irrigation water, rising temperatures, the spread of diseases and the deterioration of damaged citrus fruit.

In a statement to TAP, he called for the implementation of the national strategy to promote the citrus sector, launched in 2019, with a particular focus on encouraging farmers and renovating the irrigation network and dams in Cap Bon.

He pointed out that the quantities of citrus fruit exported do not exceed 7,000 tonnes, while the average exports used to vary between 25 and 30,000 tonnes.

The Nabeul governorate accounts for 75% of national citrus production and 90% of exports, including the Maltese variety, and this agricultural activity provides 20,000 jobs.

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