Commerce Ministry explains Tunisia’s bottled-water supply disruptions

Tunisia expects bottled-water supplies to improve sharply and stabilize over the coming days, according to Samir Khalfawi, director of economic research at the Ministry of Commerce and Export Development.

Khalfawi said consumption reached four times its usual level in July as a record heat wave drove demand higher. Several bottling plants also faced production interruptions because of electricity cuts. Repeated interruptions to tap-water supplies added to the pressure, exhausting regulatory stocks and widening the gap between daily production and consumption.

He said all bottled-water plants have now returned to their normal production pace. The ministry has asked companies to operate at full capacity, including by producing on Saturdays and Sundays. Khalfawi urged consumers not to rush to shops or buy large quantities for household stockpiles. He said daily supplies were secured and that distribution would not be interrupted, while monitoring services continued their inspections.

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There will be no interruption in distribution.

Economic-control officials seized more than 700,000 liters of bottled water in August. The seizures followed violations including excessive price increases, monopolistic practices and speculation.

Tunisia currently has 31 bottled-water plants, according to data from the National Office of Thermalism and Hydrotherapy, which oversees the sector. Bottled-water consumption rises sharply during summer. From June through September, it accounts for about 40% of annual national production, with daily consumption estimated at nearly 10 million liters, compared with about 7 million liters during the rest of the year.

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Important improvement and stabilization of supplies in the coming days.