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European bank lends Tunisia €149m for grain imports 

August 25, 2022 at 1:33 pm

A farmer harvests wheat on June 21, 2022 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a sovereign guaranteed loan deal worth €150 million ($149 million) with a state-owned Tunisian company yesterday to support grain imports, Anadolu reported.

EBRD said in a statement that the deal signed with the Tunisian Office des Cereales will fund imports of soft wheat, durum wheat and barley.

The statement said the war on Ukraine has severely impacted Tunisia’s ability to import grains and has led to disruptions in the global grain supply and hikes in global soft commodity prices, which directly impact the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries – some of which are the world’s largest importers of wheat.

According to the statement, Tunisia secures two-thirds of its grains through imports.

Since starting operations in Tunisia in 2012, the EBRD has invested more than €1.5 billion ($1.5 billion) in 59 projects, in both the public and private sectors.

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