Tunisia's marine industry is shifting from supplying components to building finished recreational boats, with sector leaders targeting €1 billion in annual exports by 2030.
Montassar Dhiaf, head of Tunisia's Marine Industries Association, told Reuters the sector expects to export approximately €500 million (US$558 million) in 2025. The association aims to double that figure within five years.
The export growth would build on structural change in the industry. Dhiaf estimates around 75 companies now operate in the sector, up from roughly 20 a decade ago, with many now locally owned.
He credits Italian firms with transferring expertise that helped Tunisian businesses progress from manufacturing parts to building complete yachts, linking the sector more closely to Europe's broader recreational boatbuilding industry.
One example of the transition is Bizerte-based builder Tarek Rassas, who employs around 60 staff and produces approximately ten yachts annually. Rassas told Reuters he plans to double his output, though no financing or timeline for that expansion was disclosed.
The industry's product quality received external recognition when the *Wama 42 XL* won the power under 45ft category in the 2026 Multihull of the Year awards. Boating New Zealand reported the result in April 2026. Reuters identified the vessel as Tunisian-built.
Dhiaf said the industry needs government support to sustain growth, specifically requesting training centres, tax incentives and other policy measures. These remain requests rather than confirmed programmes.
The association's export estimates have not been independently reconciled with customs data, and the exact product coverage of the figures remains unclear. No national production capacity total or funded government programme supporting the 2030 ambition has been established.
