Tunisians are living in a harsh reality as Eid al-Adha approaches, with sheep prices rising by about 25% due to severe drought and increased fodder prices.
These economic pressures disturb the celebration of Eid and the slaughter of sacrifices.
Khaled Ayari, an official in the Farmers’ Syndicate, said that the number of sheep decreased this year to about one million heads, and production is usually 1.4 million. He attributed the significant decline to the drought that Tunisia has suffered over the past three years and the high prices of fodder.
He added, “There have been very big changes in the price during the last five years. Prices have risen very much, and the citizen has the right to buy, but the Tunisian today is no longer able to buy a sheep for Eid, and he tells you to buy two kilograms of meat and just celebrate it. There is a lamb sold for more than 2,000.” Dinar ($640).”
Farmer Mahrez Waghmi (30 years old) from Burj Al-Ameri talks about his suffering, saying that he was forced not to sell his sheep because market prices do not cover the costs, and that he is unable to bear the high prices of fodder.
He said that if the situation continues like this, he may think about emigrating and leaving the sheep trading profession because it is no longer profitable, and sometimes it causes him losses, indicating that the main cause of the problem is the drought that the country is suffering from and the subsequent high cost of fodder.
The sight of sheep is absent and their voice is noticeably muted in Tunisian urban areas this year, after it was a common sight, because both farmers and consumers live in a harsh economic reality.
Sheep breeder Hosni Rahmouni said, “The state supports us a little. When it cancels the fodder subsidy, we bear it on the citizen, and everything is borne by the citizen. He is the one affected and the farmer more than him.”
