TUNIS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia's trade deficit expanded to 7,535.2 million dinars (3,089.4 million U.S. dollars) during the first half of 2017, against 6,034.1 million dinars in the same period last year, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Tunisia announced on Thursday.
This deficit is explained by the continuing imbalance of imports, which have grown 16.4 percent, against exports with a growth of 12.7 percent, according to INS.
As for export revenues, the balance sheet shows 16,072.3 million dinars throughout the first half of 2017, against 14,255.3 million dinars during the same period last year.
The trade deficit in Tunisia is still relatively high with China, Italy, Turkey, Russia and Algeria, INS said.
The remarkable increase in imports during the first half of the year is attributed to the energy imports, which rose 34 percent.
The European Union accounts for 75.3 percent of Tunisia's overall exports, with Germany (22.1 percent) and Italy (19.9 percent) taking the lead.
As Tunisia's biggest trade partner, 53.3 percent of Tunisian imports come from the EU, INS noted. Enditem
