The area devoted to strawberry cultivation in Tunisia reached about 614 hectares (ha) during the 2018/2019 season, including 590 ha are located in the governorate of Nabeul, compared to 563 ha last season (2017/2018), an increase of 9%.
The volume of strawberry production is estimated at 18.2 thousand tonnes over the last five years, while the output does not exceed 30 tonnes per hectare, according to data published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries.
According to initial indications, the current season looks promising, with strawberry plants benefiting from good growing conditions (temperatures of less than 8°c during the dormant period) and the health of the plants, knowing that no contamination has been recorded.
The strawberries area increased from 25 ha at the beginning of cultivation to 165 ha in the 1992/1993 season, reaching 600 ha at the beginning of the 2012/2013 season.
The average surface area from 2014 to 2018 is around 640 ha, the majority (90%) of which are located in the governorate of Nabeul and the rest distributed between the governorates of Bizerte, Beja, Jendouba, Ben Arous, Zaghouan and Sousse.
During cultivation, farmers use 95% of the conserved strawberry plants, the rest being normal plants. Allafrica.com mentions that the strawberry harvest starts in March and continues until July.
