TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian government spokesman Iyad Dahmani told the state-owned Tunis Afrique Presse Feb. 27 that Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed decided not to extend the agreement on sea salt exploitation with France’s Compagnie Generale des Salines de Tunisie (COTUSAL), which dates back to 1949.
The agreement has been subject to much controversy, as it is said to favor the French company that held a monopoly over Tunisia’s salt market and benefited from very low operating rates.