Tunisia Reaps Rewards from Record Date Exports

Tunisia said Tuesday it exported a record 110,000 tonnes of dates in 2015-16, a 10 percent increase on the previous year and a rare boost for the struggling economy.

Between October 2015 and September 2016, Tunisia exported 473.7 million dinars (191 million euros, $210 million) worth of dates, agriculture ministry spokesman Anis Ben Rayana told AFP. 

"These are record, unprecedented figures," he added. 

Total date production during the period was 242,000 tonnes, down slightly from 2014-2015, and most dates exported went to Morocco, France, Spain and Italy, the ministry said.

Tunisia's economy has been impacted by social unrest since the 2011 Arab Spring and by a string of jihadist-claimed attacks, including on its vital tourism sector.

Last year, strong exports including dates and olive oil helped Tunisia's economy "avoid the worst," the finance ministry has said.

Although date exports were up, olive oil exports were down slightly from 2014-2015 following a record olive crop, according to the National Observatory of Agriculture.

Olive oil revenues fell mainly because of the weather, the Observatory said, including a drought in central Tunisia.