Tunisia: shortage of domestic gas bottles in the middle of a cold spell

In Tunisia, only large cities are supplied by town gas, i.e. approximately 38% of the territory.

“Normally, between December and January, I sell between 3,500 and 4,000 canisters per day. Recently, we were provided with only 1,200 bottles (per day) for a little over a week, before the quota was reduced to 800 bottles per day, explains to AFP Mounir Riahi, a wholesaler who did not received no delivery since Saturday.

The cold spell affecting his rural region of Béja (north-west) “has led to an increase in consumption”, underlines Mr. Riahi, deploring “a severe shortage which forces some people to cook over a wood fire”.

This “increased demand for gas bottles is due to the delay (because of bad weather) of a ship which was to arrive a few days ago at the port of Radès (near Tunis, editor’s note),” Brahim explains to AFP Ziouziou, vice-president of the National Chamber of Domestic Gas Distributors.

Long queues were seen in Jendouba (northwest), Kairouan (center) and other rural areas.

According to Mr. Ziouziou, in normal times, production must reach “between 180,000 and 200,000 gas cylinders per day to meet all market demands”. The capacity is currently only 150,000 canisters per day also due to a fire last March in Radès, the country’s main filling center.

Three boats loaded with liquefied natural gas are due to arrive in Tunisian ports these days, according to the public distribution company Agil. Mr. Ziouziou hopes for “a return to normal within a week”.

Tunisia, a highly indebted country where purchases of basic materials are centralized and subsidized by the State, experienced sporadic shortages of basic foods such as milk, sugar, semolina and flour in 2023 and 2024.