Tunisia grain crop doubles

TUNIS: Tunisia gathered in 2.3 million tonnes of cereals in the 2011 harvest, twice as much as last year, the Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday.

"Tunisian output of cereals during the 2010-2011 season reached 23 million quintals (2.3 million tonnes)," it said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Last year, Tunisia harvested 1.1 million tonnes of grains.

The ministry broke the 2011 figure down to 1.6 million tonnes of wheat and 0.7 million of barley.

Estimates earlier this year had put the overall figure at 2.1 million tonnes.

Last month the agriculture minister told Reuters Tunisia would need to import around 0.6 million tonnes of grain this year for more than 10 million people.

The average grain crop in the country, where output swings sharply because of cyclical drought, has been 1.7 million tonnes over the last decade.

Farming represents about 13 percent of gross domestic product.

Copyright Reuters, 2011