Tunisia Expects to Reduce Durum Wheat Imports as Output Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Tunisia expects to reduce imports of durum wheat, used to make pasta, as domestic production of all grains climbs.

Imports of all varieties of wheat and barley in the 2017-18 season will fall to 2.1 million metric tons from 2.4 million tons a year earlier, Taoufik Saidi, director general of Tunisia’s Office des Cereales, said in an interview in Tunis. Domestic production of all grains will increase to 1.8 million tons from 1.4 million tons over the same period.

Tunisia issues international tenders for its grain imports, and watches the global grain markets to decide when to seek new supplies, Saidi said. There are no plans to change its importing procedures, he said.

Global durum wheat prices are expected to rise this year as farmers, especially in Canada, cut plantings, Saidi said. Prices of soft wheat, used to make cookies and cake, and barley should stabilize, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Tunis at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Claudia Carpenter