環地中海における食料貿易と食料生産 -チュニジアを中心として-

Abstract

In this paper, the authors analyze the transformation of Tunisian food production and food trade over the span of fifty years. At independence, the Tunisian agricultural economy had a two-part structure. One focus was the production of grapes for wine and olives for oil meant for export to European countries. The second focus was the production of wheat, a staple food for Tunisian people, though domestic production was insufficient to meet demand. As a result, one third of the wheat consumed nationally was imported from European countries. During these fifty years, the population of Tunisia increased to two and a half times its earlier size. Despite a threefold increase in the domestic production of wheat, the quantity of imported wheat increased six fold. The cost of imports also increased. On the other hand, the quantity of olive exports increased by three times. In these years, the total value of olive and date exports of compensated for wheat imports. Another characteristic of Tunisian agriculture is that its production is affected greatly by the weather, especially annual rainfall. Every few years, they suffer a serious loss of food production, especially for wheat, due to a shortage of rainfall. Tunisian agriculture remains dependent upon rainwater. Tunisia's food trading partners have also changed. Tunisia currently imports wheat not only from Mediterranean European countries, but also from North American countries and Eastern European countries. Meanwhile, Tunisia exports most of its olive oil to Mediterranean European countries. To date, Mediterranean Islamic countries have been important trading countries as well as Mediterranean European countries.