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🇹🇳 Tunisia /Economy & Trade

Tunisia: Controversy Over Alleged 'Million Sheep from Italy' Donation

From La Presse · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A controversy has resurfaced in Tunisia regarding a supposed donation of one million sheep from Italy.
  • A parliamentary committee member stated that while the donation was proposed in 2016, no official documents confirm its existence or reasons for potential rejection.
  • Both the Ministry of Agriculture and a farmers' union have denied the donation's existence, while sheep prices have recently fallen due to decreased consumer demand.

Tunisia is once again grappling with a controversy surrounding an alleged donation of one million sheep from Italy, a claim for which no official proof has yet emerged. Khaled Hakim Mabrouki, vice-president of the Agriculture, Food Security, and Fisheries Commission at the Assembly of People's Representatives, stated that the issue was discussed during a meeting with the common professional sheep farming group.

Mabrouki mentioned that this supposed donation was presented as a proposal dating back to 2016, involving one million ewes from the Sardinia region. However, he emphasized that no official documentation exists to confirm the aid or explain why Tunisian authorities might have rejected it. He also noted that both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries have formally denied the existence of such a donation.

No official document confirms the existence of this aid or explains the reasons for its potential rejection by the Tunisian authorities.

— Khaled Hakim MabroukiVice-president of the Commission of Agriculture, Security Alimentaire et Pêche, discussing the alleged Italian sheep donation.

Separately, Mabrouki reported a recent decrease in the prices of sacrificial sheep, estimated between 150 and 300 dinars. This price drop occurs amid reduced consumer demand, attributed to a general rise in prices. A good quality sheep, typically used for Eid and weighing around 15 kilograms, now costs between 1,100 and 1,150 dinars, though some animals are available for as little as 800 dinars.

Furthermore, the deputy highlighted the lack of precise official statistics on the national livestock population in 2026. Neither public authorities nor professional organizations possess reliable figures, with unofficial estimates suggesting a total exceeding 500,000 heads. These estimates rely on veterinary vaccination operations, which, while serving as an indirect indicator, have limitations, including potential duplicate counts and coverage gaps in remote rural areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture as well as the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries have formally denied the existence of this donation.

— Khaled Hakim MabroukiVice-president of the Commission of Agriculture, Security Alimentaire et Pêche, regarding official denials of the donation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Presse in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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