European slowdown hits Tunisia
16/03/2009
The president of Tunisia's National Leather and Footwear Federation (FNCC), Ahmed Bouassida, has said that the value of exports from both sectors from the North African country has fallen by 11% since November.
He said most export-focused producers in Tunisia concentrated around 95% of their efforts on the European market, which has been badly hit by the economic downturn, leading to fewer orders and fewer sales for his member companies.
Mr Bouassidas said: "Our aim for 2008 was to bring in around $700 million in export revenues, but it looks at the moment as though we've only managed about $625 million."
He added that his own company, Sopic, a footwear and shoe upper manufacturer, had experienced a 20%-25% fall in orders in recent months, and said he knew of other businesses that had closed down.
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