Tunisian date exports reach 908.4 million dinars in first ten months of season

Exports rise in volume and value

Tunisia exported 144,100 tonnes of dates during the first ten months of the 2025-2026 season, generating revenue of 908.4 million dinars. Shipments recorded between October 2025 and July 2026 increased by 13.3% from a year earlier, while their value rose by 12.2%, according to National Observatory of Agriculture data reported by Mosaïque FM and cited by Webmanagercenter.

The results brought the sector closer to one billion dinars in seasonal export revenue. Growth in tonnage slightly exceeded growth in receipts, indicating that the overall expansion was driven primarily by larger volumes. The average price across all exported dates was 6.30 dinars per kilogram. For producers, packers and exporters, maintaining revenue growth will therefore depend not only on shipping more fruit, but also on preserving prices in premium markets.

Commercial weight exceeds production ranking

FAO data cited by Webmanagercenter show that Tunisia produced about 400,219 tonnes of dates in 2024. That placed it ninth globally, with approximately 4% of world output, which approached 10 million tonnes. Tunisia ranked behind Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and Oman.

Its position in international trade is considerably stronger than its share of production. Tunisia has ranked among the world’s three leading date exporters by value for several years, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Deglet Nour is central to that performance: the variety represented 84% of export volume in the first ten months of the season and achieved an average price of 7.05 dinars per kilogram, compared with 6.30 dinars for total date exports. Quality, packaging and product positioning allow the industry to extract more export value from a harvest that remains modest beside those of the largest producers.

Europe leads a diversified market base

Tunisian dates reach about 86 markets. The European Union received 45.7% of exported volume, followed by Africa with 22.9% and Asia with 19.6%. This distribution gives exporters access to several regions, although the European market still absorbs almost one in every two dates shipped abroad. Demand conditions, food standards and buyer requirements in the EU consequently remain particularly important for Tunisian processors and traders.

Organic dates form a smaller but faster-growing premium segment. Organic exports reached 8,300 tonnes, up 8.1%, while revenue climbed 32.6% to 82.2 million dinars. Germany alone received 33% of the organic volume. The much faster increase in value than in tonnage points to stronger price realization in certified products. Further opportunities may also come from processing: UNIDO reports that Tunisian exports of date derivatives tripled over five years. Certification, packaging, processing and derivative products could therefore raise earnings without requiring Tunisia to match the production scale of the world’s largest growers.