Reported investments in the industrial sector have dropped by 27.3% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, to 724 million dinars (MD) compared to the same period last year, according to the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII).
This decline is recorded notwithstanding the slight increase in the number of projects reported (+1.4%) to 970 during Q1 2021.
The creation of jobs shows the same downward trend (-3.8%), as these potential projects are expected to create 14,007 jobs, against 14,561 jobs in Q1 2020.
The textile and clothing industries sector saw a rise of 85.7%, followed by the agro-food industries (+78.2%) and chemical industries (+1.7%).
On the other hand, several sectors recorded severe decreases, such as the building materials, ceramics and glass industries (-80.1%), miscellaneous industries (-57%), leather and footwear industries (-39.2%) and mechanical and electronic industries (-36.2%).
According to the same source, 61% of the investments reported during the first quarter of 2021 fit into the framework of extension and renewal projects.
Actually, the investments reported as part of the creation projects fell by 51.2% to 284.6 MD in Q1 2021.
As regards investments reported by regime, investments reported in the totally exporting industries recorded an increase of 68.8%, from 191.4 MD to 323.1 MD in Q1 2021.
This rise is mainly due to the increase recorded in the food-processing, mechanical and electrical, chemical and textile and clothing industries.
However, the industries whose production is oriented towards the domestic market, registered a 50.1% decline from 803.9 MD to 400.9 MD during Q1 2021. The largest investment volumes were reported in Zaghouan with 132.3 MD, Gabes (103.1 MD) and Sfax (61.2 MD).
