Tunisia has a
flourishing agri-food products industry, with a growing reputation for quality.
Some 10.8% of the labour force was employed in agriculture in 2010,
contributing to the fight against unemployment and sustaining livelihoods.
Accessing and distributing timely and accurate trade intelligence is vital in
equipping Tunisian exporters with the necessary tools to play their part in strengthening
the national economy.
The collection and
dissemination of trade intelligence through a smoothly operating network helps
ensure that Tunisian agri-food products gain and maintain their share of
international markets. Its objective is to capture, process and make available
all trade information related to opportunities, trends, facts and changing
market conditions for Tunisian products.
This takes not
only resourceful systems and precise guidelines for information management, but
also the accuracy and promptness with which information experts can take
action. This is especially critical today at a time when the dynamism of
foreign markets demands quick reactions in order to perform successfully
worldwide.
Tunisia’s closest
trading partners include those in Europe, such as France and Italy, and its
neighbors, Algeria and Libya. Every single change in the conditions of access
to these markets, either big or small, will represent an opportunity, a
challenge or a problem to solve.
Networked intelligence – how it makes a difference
Trade intelligence
begins with awareness about simple events in the markets and market access
conditions. A networked approach magnifies the value that can be extracted from
the data. As development needs arise, more qualified people and stronger
support are required to build the power of trade intelligence systems.
As part of an ITC
project funded by Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic
Affairs (SECO), a trade intelligence monitoring network has been developed in
Tunisia in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Tourism. This network,
the Tunisian Trade Intelligence Network for Analysis and Commercial and
Economic Monitoring (Reséau d’Intelligence d’Analyse et de Veille Economique et
Commerciale – RIAVEC), is composed of various organizations that support the
development of enterprises and economic activities in the country. The role of
the network members is to monitor information on a continuous basis and alert
decision-makers in the public and private sector so that they can respond to
any threats or opportunities identified.
‘As part of the
establishment of the network,’ says Khefifi Fakhri, from the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of Tunis, ‘we have adopted new measures to improve
business intelligence within our body. In fact the business support centre and
export points provide research, analysis and processing of new, useful,
relevant and strategic information for Tunisian exporters.’ Export points are a
joint initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunis and the
Centre for the Promotion of Exports (Centre de Promotion des Exportations),
CEPEX.
RIAVEC in action
In April 2011, the
efficiency and relevance of the RIAVEC network was showcased when an export
point’s monitor received an alert about the elimination of the requirement to
present the Certificate of Quality Control to the Central Bank of Algeria for
all exports to that country involving letters of credit and cash against
documents. He quickly informed his network partners about this change in
Algeria’s trading procedures.
The focal point of
RIAVEC from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunis immediately notified
all national exporting companies in its database to enable them to respond to
the new procedures. In this case, the increased awareness resulted in lower
costs, fewer barriers and greater opportunities.
‘ITC believes that
institutional networking for effective trade intelligence collection and
dissemination in developing countries is the way to create awareness about
opportunities in foreign markets. Similar initiatives are currently in
development in other countries and at the regional level with favorable
results. The need for this type of institutional and operational set-up has
been growing over the last five years. Beneficiaries and donors are
increasingly asking for this kind of model in the trade intelligence area,’
says Stephan Blanc, Chief of Trade Information Services at ITC.