PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2015

EDITOUR REPORT 11 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 04/15 www.petpla.net PET in Tunisia and the challenges of recycling We start with Tunisia. The most northerly state in Africa, with an area measuring just under 164,000 km², is divided into 24 “gouvernements” and is home to 11 million people. In 2014 GDP per head amounted around US$ 4467. Since the 90s, the population has shown a slow but steady upward trend, helped by a birth rate which is the lowest in the Arab world. The healthcare system is well developed in municipal areas, less so in country districts. Average life expectancy is around 75.1 years (2012). Tunisia’s border to the north and to a major extent to the east too is formed by the Mediterranean; Algeria is its neighbour to the west and south west whilst to the south east it is Libya. The country is regarded as the country with the highest level of competitive capability in Africa. In addition to tour- ism, the most important sectors of the economy are agricul- ture, mining and textile manufacture. Agricultural activity is focused primarily on cereal cultivation. Other areas include the cultivation of olives, dates and citrus fruits, together with vegetables. Agriculture swallows up around 80% of Tunisia’s supply of fresh water with a current irrigation requirement of 345,000 hectares. Its importance as far as olive oil exports are concerned is immense. Approx. 20% of all employment is in agriculture, some 30% in industry and about 50% in tourism and the service industries, including the majority of outsourced services. Europe is Tunisia’s most important trading partner; it is from here that 75% of imports originate whilst around 80% of goods are exported there. One of Tunisia’s export successes is phosphate and textile manufacture is assuming an important position. Another sector is oil extraction although, by comparison to Algeria in particular, deposits are found only in small quan- tities. The top 3 beverages consumed per head were around 105 litres water, 54 litres CSDs and 32 litres of tea (hot) in 2013. Up to the most recent forecast in 2014, packaged water is registering the largest rate of growth at an average 5.14%. The use of PET in the packaging market registers only minor changes in the years 2010-2012. In the syrups and concentrates sector in particular, PET, PVC and HDPE dominate in that order, followed by a slight increase in the case of CSDs and a decline in glass. Macro-economic data (Source: Germany Trade & Invest / World Bank as at Nov. 2014) Tunisia Algeria Morocco Population 11 million * 38,7 million * 33.2* million Population growth 0.9%* p.a. 1.9%* p.a. 1.0%* p.a. Gross domestic product: 49.1* billion USD 22.8* billion USD 112.6* billion USD GDP growth rate: 2011 -1.9% +2.8% +5.0% 2012 +3.7% +3.3% +2.7% 2013 +2.3%* +2.8% +4.4% 2014 +2.8%* +3.8%* +3.5%* 2015 +3.7%* +4.0%* +4.7%* GDP per head of population: 2013 approx. 4317 USD* approx. 5606 USD approx. 3160 USD 2014 approx. 4467 USD* approx. 5886 USD* approx. 3392 USD* 2015 approx. 4503 USD* approx. 6041 USD* approx. 3638 USD* Import / Export in USD: 2012 23.1 billion (2.2%) / 17.1 billion (4.5%) 50.4 billion (6.8%) / 71.9 billion (-2.0%) 44.8 billion (1.1%) / 21.4 billion (-0.9%) 2013 22.9 billion (0.9%) / 17.0 billion (0.6%) 54.9 billion (8.9%) / 66.0 billion (-8.2%) no data available 2014/15 no data available no data available no data available National debt based on GDP net: 2013 46.2%* -23.7%* 64.0%* 2014 50.9%* -17.8%* 65.5%* 2015 52.5%* -16.3%* 65.7%* Unemployment rate: 2013 15.3%* 9.8%* 64.0% 2014 15.3%* 10.8%* 65.5%* 2015 15.0%* 11.3%* 65.7%* Inflation: 2013 6.1%* 3.3%* 1.9% 2014 5.7%* 3.2%* 1.1%* 2015 5.0%* 4.0%* 2.0%* * Estimate / forecast