A strategic study on the Tunisian table olive production chain: the case of Grand Tunis and Beja areas

Despite the importance of the olive sector in Tunisia, the table olive sector is still far from the expected growth and remains less developed than the olive oil sector. In this perspective, the paper aims at exploring the weaknesses and constraints which hamper the progress of this sector and proposes strategies to develop the different steps of the value chain. To fulfill this objective, a methodology based on a value chain analysis was undertaken. Results show the dominance of informal activity which leads to an unfair competition with the organized sector, price fluctuations and an unequal distribution of economic margins between producers. This difference between farmers' margins and market margin and the lack of coordination between actors, highlights the need for a vertical integration between the three sub-sectors (production, processing and commercialization) and the necessity to encourage informal producers to get involved in the sector organization.