In the next few days, the first container with boneless beef will arrive in Tunisia. Six years had passed since our country's last exports to this important North African market.
The Argentine Government, through the Secretariat of State for Agro-industry and the Argentine Foreign Ministry, informs that the first shipment of 25 tonnes of boneless beef has been sent from the meat processing plant Santa Giulia, in the province of Buenos Aires, to the company Societé Farah, Tunisia's main beef importer.
The sanitary certificate, which is issued by the National Service of Agri-food Health and Quality (SENASA), is valid since 2005 for boneless beef and since 2007 for bone-in and boneless ovine meat.
"It is a significant achievement for both countries, and it is the result of a joint and coordinated effort between the Foreign Ministries, health authorities and agro-industry officials from both Argentina and Tunisia. The news is of great importance to the meat sector and, in general, in terms of prospects for Argentine exports, which are gradually accessing and recovering new markets," Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie stated.
The Secretary of Agro-Industry, Luis Miguel Etchevere, stressed that "among the core issues that we address from the Argentine Government are trade bonds with as many regions of the world as possible, and today, being able to confirm that a country like Tunisia decides to resume buying our products proves that we are on the right path and that efforts are bearing fruit. This surely represents an opportunity for Argentina to continue growing, to commit to competitiveness and to keep carving the path to ensure its presence in international markets."
Last December the Foreign Ministry and Agro-industry made an official visit to increase exports to Tunisia, promoting the opening of new markets such as those of beef and other products like agricultural machinery, seeds and silo bags, wheat, barley, corn, soy, sunflower, soy and maize oil, livestock for milk production and fattening, sugar, tea and rice, among others.
Tunisia is a potential export market for our country, since every year negotiations make good progress. In 2018, certificates to export edible beef gelatin, hides of domestic ungulates and bees were issued, and Argentina is currently negotiating sanitary certificates for frozen ovine and bovine offal, frozen bovine and bubaline semen, in vivo-derived embryos, breeding bovines for fattening and bivalve molluscs, among others.
Another important aspect is the technical cooperation taking place between Argentina and Tunisia in the agricultural sector, with the collaboration of the Argentine Fund for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (Fo.Ar.), as well as the improvement of the ovine and caprine production chain, together with the IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and the Tunisian government, and the improvement of the Black Thibar breed (ovine) and bovine breed, and a programme on fine cereals.
