Reported investment in the industrial sector fell 35.5% in the first quarter of 2018, to 922 million Tunisian dinars against 1,428.8 MTD in Q1 2017, according to a newsletter issued by the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (French: APII).
The number of reported projects in the industrial sector reached 1,202 in Q1 2018 against 1,228 during the same period in 2017, i.e. a 2.1% drop.
Employment projections also decreased by 20.2%, from 20,628 jobs in the first three months of 2017 to 16,467 in the first quarter of 2017.
Reported investments in the agro-food industries also went down by 29.8%, from 419. 6 MTD in 2017 to 294.7 MTD in Q1 2018.
The same applies to the building materials, ceramics and glass industries where investment intentions posted a 14.9% drop during the first three months of 2018 with 168.4 MTD against 198 MTD during the same period in 2017.
Likewise, investment intentions in the textile and clothing sector have decreased by 34.4% with 30.8 MTD in Q1 2018 against 46.9MTD in 2017.
However, reported investments in the leather and footwear industries edged up by 34.5%, from 5.5 MTD to 7.4 MTD in Q1 2018.
