JEANS IN TUNISIA

Tunisia is a country of around 10 million people. Per capita income is around 4300 USD. The latest political and social turmoil has shaken the manufacturing base in the country. The local currency, the dinar, has depreciated quite significantly over the last five years. Inflation rate is high, around 6,5%.



There is an historical tradition of textile manufacturing in the country and jeans manufacturing is mainly based on Monastir area. Some of the most important companies are Sartex, Mikotex VTL, New Bramatex etc.  EU companies do use local manufacturing plants for top quality garment production. Lee Cooper, Esprit, Tommy, Bluefire, are few examples.




The geographical location is strategic as it closed to Italy. Local workforce is quite educated but certainly it needs to develop a broader supply of  educated staff for the textile market.

Denim is mainly imported from EU.
Over the years, the fabric being sent from EU to Tunisia has been reduced – showing a logical reduction in manufacturing activity in Tunisia related to denim garment manufacturing due to increasing costs and also the effect of EU slowdown. However, recently we have seen that  the imports of denim jeans into EU has actually increased. Hence , the reasons for reduced conversion in Tunisia are related more to increasing costs than the economic situation in EU. Inflation needs to be controlled in order to preserve competitiveness. 

Political stability seems "under control" these days. The country has the potential to be a player in the industry provided they can keep wages under stable control. Companies have adquired through the years good capital equipment to produce top quality fashion jeans. The main problem in business apparel is that   
labor involvement is significant. Just in time is also key factor for future performance of the market, similar to Morroco. 


"TUNISIA DENIM"

Tunisia enjoys several comparative advantages, such as low labour cost and proximity to the EU market.According to the 2007 textile labour cost comparison by Werner International, the average cost per operator hour in the Tunisian industry is significantly lower than in Morocco and Turkey.Due to the reactivity of the Tunsiian apparel sector delivery times ( 2 to 3 weeks ) are lower than Turkey and poland ( 3 to 4 weeks ) and definitely lower than india and china (12 à 20 weeks).

According to the 2007 textile labour cost comparison by Werner International, the average cost per operator hour in the Tunisian industry (US$2.01) is significantly lower than in Morocco (US$2.62) and Turkey (US$2.96). 

Certification for products, systems and environment have become widespread among sector enterprises as has the development of labelling such as OEKOTEX, ECOLABEL.