• Tunisia plans to export 15,000 tonnes of Maltese oranges to France in the 2025/2026 season

• Projected shipments exceed the previous season’s volume by more than 160%

• Authorities back exports with a promotional campaign targeting younger European consumers

In Tunisia, citrus fruits rank as the country’s second-largest fruit export category after dates. As the 2025/2026 marketing season approaches, export prospects continue to take shape across Tunisia’s main destination markets.

In Tunisia, the citrus sector plans to export 15,000 tonnes of Maltese oranges to France during the 2025/2026 campaign, which will start on December 31. The Interprofessional Group of Fruits (GIFruits) released these initial projections last week.

The announced volume represents more than double the 5,600 tonnes shipped during the previous campaign. If confirmed, the projection would mark the highest sales volume recorded on the French market over the past nine campaigns, following a peak of 15,999 tonnes in 2016/2017, according to Eurostat data.

The expected increase in export volumes comes as citrus production shows signs of stagnation. GIFruits estimates national citrus output for 2025/2026 at 376,000 tonnes, reflecting a 2% decline from 384,000 tonnes recorded in the previous season.

To explain the favorable outlook on the French market, the interprofessional body highlights a promotional program for Tunisian oranges that the Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch. The program will include participation in several international trade events, notably the Paris International Agricultural Show, scheduled from February 21 to March 1, 2026.

“As part of the preparations for this season’s citrus promotion campaign, which aims to attract new consumer categories, particularly those aged 20 to 40, and to broaden the consumer base, an advertising campaign for Maltese oranges will be carried out on European markets,”
 said Tarek Tira, Deputy Director for Export Development at GIFruits, as quoted by Kapitalis on Saturday, December 13.

More broadly, the announced projections, if confirmed, would reinforce France as the leading market for Tunisian citrus. During the 2024/2025 season, France accounted for 51.3% of Tunisia’s citrus shipments, exclusively through purchases of Maltese oranges.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum