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Oléagineux, Corps Gras, Lipides. Volume 11, Number 2, 92-6, MARS/AVRIL 2004, Économie

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Author(s) : Jean‐Louis BENASSI, Michel LABONNE

Summary : Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia face a strong deficit in both edible oils and oil meals. Projections indicate that, to follow rising demand, imports are due to grow despite potential development of national production. The main vegetable oil produced is olive oil, of which Tunisia is a significant exporter while production hardly covers needs in Algeria and Morocco. The latter also produces some sunflower. But all three countries strongly rely on imports for their domestic market. Each country has a different pattern for consumption and imports (soybean oil dominates in Morocco and Tunisia while sunflower and rapeseed oils are more important in Algeria), and for the types of products imported (only Morocco has developed a significant crushing industry and is an oilseed importer). The degree of liberalisation and of direct intervention of the State in the market are also variable, and each country has a different set of trade and protection policies\; these are consistent with the types of productions and industries that have developed domestically and, together with consumption habits and international prices, have an influence on the types of products preferentially imported. All three countries have projects for the development of olive and oilseed productions. Concerning olive, the Tunisian model, oriented towards export, is the reference and a number of socio‐economic factors should favour the development of olive tree plantations. Concerning oilseeds, only Morocco, so far, has been implementing a policy that permitted to develop local production. Price policies are certainly the easiest way to support oilseed development, but should be managed with due concern for economic efficiency. In particular, while ensuring a certain stability of internal production, they should permit to adjust supports to oilseeds and cereals in order to take advantage of relative prices on the international market.

Keywords : Maghreb, oilseeds, vegetable oil, oil meal, market, importations, protection, development policy