14 November 2009
Tunis — Mr. Mohamed Ghannouchi, Prime Minister inaugurated on Friday in Hammamet, the First International Exhibition of Food-Processing Industry and Services (SIIAS 2009), which will run until November 15, 2009.
The Fair is organized by the Global Exhibition Corporation company, in collaboration with Tunisian International Centre for Environmental Technologies (CITET), the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (UNOID) and the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce (Libya).
"SIIAS 2009â-' an important meeting point for all stakeholders specializing in food-processing industries, is gathering some 60 exhibitors from Morocco, Libya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Italy and Ivory Cost.
Participant's enterprises operate namely in the fields of food-processing, biological food, packaging, equipments and accessories, in addition to importing and exporting firms and support structures active in food-processing industries.
Touring the various stands of the Fair, Mr. Ghannouchi took cognizance of the opportunities offered so as to reinforce economic relations and strengthen trade between Arab and European countries in food-processing industries.
In 2008 the sector achieved a 7.6% growth rate and contributed to 3.7 % of country's GDP and 10 % of exports.
Tunisia's food-processing sector, which comprises 6,000 enterprises employing some 85,000 persons, attracts nearly one third of the manufactured industries' investments and represents 20 % of the added value of these industries.
The Prime Minister enquired about efforts exerted by the stakeholders, to promote olive oil packaging in order to reinforce the Tunisian product on the international markets.
Tunisia is striving to raise the share of packaged olive oil exportations out of the overall olive oil exports up to 10 % by 2011, against 4% currently.
SIIAS 2009 is an occasion to introduce exportation opportunities offered by biological agriculture which presently covers nearly 285,000 hectares. According to forecasts, cultivation of these crops could be raised to 500,000 hectares by the end of 2014.
On this occasion, CITET will launch the Tunisian Ecolabel which will be represented by the seven pilot export companies .
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