EBRD boosts Tunisian agricultural

sector
By Nibal Zgheib

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is developing the
agricultural sector in Tunisia by providing a 4 million loan to Sanlucar Floralia, the first
large-scale raspberry plantation ever established in the country. The product will mainly
be exported to Europe and the Middle East.

The EBRD-funded project, located in northern Tunisia in the Governorate of Bizerte, will
introduce new varieties and will involve the innovative use of modern agricultural
methods, allowing the farm to minimise the consumption of water, fertilisers and
pesticides. Furthermore, the project will provide new and stable jobs for farm workers
and agricultural engineers.

Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie, EBRD Head of Office in Tunisia, said: Todays

signing with Floralia is an important step to develop the agribusiness sector in Tunisia.
Building on the countrys potential, its favourable weather for good harvests and its
geographic proximity to Europe, agribusiness can contribute substantially to the
economic growth and creation of job opportunities.

Stephan Roetzer, owner and CEO of Sanlucar Group, said: In order to cultivate the
most delicious fruits and vegetables in the future as well, we are constantly looking for
the best farming regions around the world. The Finca Floralia in Tunisia is a plantation
with successful future prospects where we will continue to invest in the development of
a modern and sustainable agriculture.

Sanlucar Floralia is owned and managed by Sanlucar Group, a fruit and vegetable
specialist based in Valencia, Spain, and with a strong distribution and logistics network
particularly in Austria and Germany. Sanlucar sources its high-quality products from
partner farms worldwide, as well as from its own production sites in Europe, Tunisia,
South Africa and Ecuador.
The EBRD has been investing in Tunisia since September 2012, providing financing so
far of close to 250 million in 17 projects. The Bank provided technical assistance
support to more than 130 small and medium-sized Tunisian enterprises.

The Banks investment comes under the Local Enterprise Facility, a 400 million facility
for investments in enterprises in Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR
Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro,Romania, Serbia and Turkey, as well as countries in
the southern and eastern Mediterranean region (Egypt,Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia). It
provides a wide range of flexible financial products, including equity, quasi-equity and
debt financing to address the needs of companies and the real economy.

The SanLucar brand stands for fruit and vegetables from personally controlled
cultivation with the very best taste. With around 90 delicious fruit and vegetables from
more than 35 countries, SanLucar is the brand with the broadest range on the market.