Tunisia’s aquaculture investment reaches US$30.7M in 2025

TUNISIA – Approved private investment in Tunisia’s aquaculture sector climbed to US$30.7 million (88.1 million dinars) in 2025, three times the US$9 million (26 million dinars) recorded in 2024, according to the latest statistical bulletin from the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency.

While the figures reflect growing investor confidence in fish farming, the expansion also signals a forthcoming rise in demand for technically formulated aquafeed, precision nutrition, and performance-enhancing feed additives.

Aquaculture remains underdeveloped compared with capture fisheries, which continue to dominate Tunisia’s fish supply. However, as capital flows into farmed production systems, the sector is expected to shift toward more intensive and semi-intensive models, systems that depend heavily on balanced compound feeds, controlled feeding regimes, and optimized feed conversion ratios (FCR).

Although the agency did not outline the specific types of projects approved, the scale of funding indicates that investors are positioning themselves within a sector the government intends to expand over the remainder of the decade.

Production target set for 2030

A market report from the United States Department of Agriculture indicates that Tunisia aims to increase farmed fish output by 54% to 50,000 tonnes by 2030, up from 23,000 tonnes in 2024.

From a feed manufacturing perspective, such an increase could translate into substantial growth in aquafeed volumes over the next five years. Feed typically accounts for 50–70% of total aquaculture production costs, making formulation efficiency and ingredient quality central to farm profitability.

Assuming average FCR of 1.5–1.8 in marine fish species, the projected production expansion implies a significant rise in compound feed demand, particularly for protein-rich formulations.

As production intensifies, pressure on ingredient sourcing is likely to increase. Tunisia’s aquaculture sector may face continued exposure to imported fishmeal and soybean meal markets, where price volatility can directly affect feed margins. This environment could accelerate interest in alternative proteins and locally sourced raw materials aimed at improving cost stability and sustainability credentials.

In parallel, the use of functional additives is expected to gain prominence as producers focus on growth optimisation, disease resilience and feed efficiency. Enzymes, probiotics and specialised lipid formulations may become increasingly relevant as farms seek to maximise biological performance under tighter cost structures.

Aquaculture is projected to account for 17% of total approved private agricultural investment in 2025, within an overall sector investment of US$180.2 million (515.3 million dinars). For feed manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, the investment trajectory indicates the emergence of a more structured aquafeed market in North Africa, with opportunities tied not only to feed volume growth but to technical formulation, ingredient innovation and supply chain localisation.

As Tunisia advances toward its 2030 production target, the competitiveness of the sector will depend as much on feed performance and nutritional strategy as on capital investment in farm infrastructure.

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