The deadline set for poultry farmers by the Interprofessional Grouping of Poultry and Rabbit Products (Gipac) to declare losses suffered during the extreme heat and electricity outages of July and August 2026 is due this Monday, September 7. The data should be used to assess the extent of the damage and to prepare production adjustment measures.
The Essentials
- Gipac has asked farmers to submit their losses no later than September 7, 2026.
- The data concern mortality, production decline, growth delays, and effects on fertility.
- The Ministry of Agriculture plans, initially, to import batches of hatching eggs to support production in November and December.
- According to the National Chamber of Poultry and White Meat Traders, production could fall to 11,000 tonnes in September, down from 16,000 tonnes expected before the heatwave.
- Some small and medium-sized farms reportedly registered up to 100% mortality in their stock.
Gipac closes the losses census
In a press release published on September 1, Gipac had called “all poultry breeders, breeding birds, broiler chickens, turkeys and laying hens” to report to it the volume of losses recorded in the sector, particularly due to the heatwave and power outages.
The information requested differs according to the sector.
The laying-hen farmers must notably indicate the mortality rate, i.e., the share of birds dead relative to the size of the flock, as well as the decrease in production.
For broiler and turkey farms, Gipac requests the mortality rate as well as data on growth delays.
Regarding breeder farms, the data cover mortality, the decline in performance and the consequences observed on fertility.
The group explains that this collection should allow to support its interventions aimed at evaluating the damages suffered by the different links of the value chain and to contribute to the sector’s upgrade.
Eggs to hatch imports considered
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries had announced, on September 3, its intention to take production adjustment measures based on the census and the assessment of losses.
The following day, Salwa Dhaouadi, Deputy Director of Meat Production at the General Directorate of Agricultural Production under the Ministry of Agriculture, indicated that authorities were considering, in a first step, importing batches of hatching eggs.
The announced objective is to contribute to adjusting production during the months of November and December.
According to the same official, the market is expected to face some pressure on white meat supply during September, a period marked in particular by the return to a two-session work regime as well as the start of the school and university year.
She estimates that supply could return to a normal pace starting in October.
Small and medium-sized farms particularly affected
Salwa Dhaouadi also indicated that prolonged and repeated electricity outages during heat waves affected several zones with high production density, notably in the governorates of Nabeul and Zaghouan.
Small and medium-sized farms not equipped with generators would have been particularly exposed, as power cuts prevented the continuous operation of cooling and ventilation systems.
In some units, stock mortality reached 100%, according to information provided by the official.
Estimated production of 11,000 tonnes in September
The president of the National Chamber of Poultry and White Meat Traders, Ibrahim Nefzaoui, indicated that the chamber anticipates a drop in white meat production to 11,000 tonnes during this September.
Before the heatwave, production was expected at 16,000 tonnes.
The gap amounts to 5,000 tonnes, i.e., a decrease of 31.25% from the initial forecast, according to a TN calculation based on figures provided by the chamber.
Markets have, for several days, experienced disruptions in poultry meat supply, accompanied by rising prices.
Updated official statistics still unavailable
At this stage, there are no updated and detailed official statistics allowing precise estimation of the daily or monthly volume of production and consumption of white meats in Tunisia, nor the exact number of farms and active breeders.
As a reference, the National Chamber of Poultry Traders estimated that in 2025, national daily production was around 500 tonnes, with consumption between 350 and 400 tonnes per day.
These estimates, however, do not alone allow measuring the exact extent of losses recorded in 2026. Gipac’s expected assessment should indeed allow refining the evaluation of the shock endured by the sector and determining the necessary adjustment measures.
