APIP Agricultural Policy Implementation Project

This research facility should not be considered for funding until the
stability and viability of the export flower sector is more certain. In the
meantime, the GOT should consider training a few agronomists from Chott Meriem
in practical aspects of flower propagation and production focusing on roses,
gladioli, and carnations.
In the area of promotion, the Government should continue to support the
efforts of APIA to identify potential investors in the sector. APIA should be
encouraged to follow up more closely on the results of partnerships or joint
ventures which APIA has helped to arrange. CEPEX should be encouraged to
collaborate closely with any association established by growers. In particular,
CEPEX needs to develop a better understanding of the capabilities of current
flower exporters so that it can accurately represent Tunisia's potential at
international fairs. CEPEX should begin to develop video tapes and brochures on
Tunisian flowers for distribution in the European market. Once the flower
exporters association is fully functional, many of these responsibilities and
costs can be transferred from CEPEX to the association.
6.3 Tunisian Marketing Strategy
A marketing strategy for Tunisian cut flower exports must necessarily
consider the actual development of the sector. In this case it is at a
prefeasibility stage. That is,producers have not yet perfected or refined
technical aspects related to production, harvesting, packaging and shipping of
cut flowers. Growers are still experimcnting with different kinds of flowers,
determining what grows best and trying to match their production with market
demand. Unfortunately, with limited technical assistance and little knowledge
of outside markets, growers are encountering difficulties producing a marketable
quality product. A number of steps need to be taken for Tunisia to adopt a
successful market entry strategy.
First, growers need to identify the flowers best suited agronomically to
the Tunisian context and profitably grown at quality standards acceptable to the
export market. Second, market demand should be analyzed so that growers can
determine the best product mix among flowers that are in demand and also offer
the most remunerative prices. Market information from secondary sources like
ITC, combined with information from potential or existing partners or buyers in
Europe, would provide growers with a solid idea of market potential and trends.
Third, competing suppliers need to be analyzed to ensure that there are real
market opportunities for Tunisian flowers. Demand for roses may be growing but
ifother suppliers like Morocco have well-established marketing structures and
are flooding the market with low-cost flowers (as appears to be the case with
Moroccan roses to France), there may not be room for a new producer like Tunisia.
However, Tunisia should try to identify a "niche" in the winter market.
One product that a number of French wholesalers felt might have potential
for Tunisia is gladioli, a flower that grows well inTunisia. While gladioli do
not represent a significant percentage of total world flower trade, or French
imports for that matter, they have good export potential for Tunisia because of
the country's close proximity to France and other major markets. Gladioli
production in France has increased to meet growing demand, but off-season
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