French Farmers Block Trucks, Protest Moroccan Tomato Imports at Perpignan Toll

On Thursday, many Breton, Provençal or Nantes region farmers responded to the call of the FDSEA and the Young Farmers of the Pyrénées-Orientales by participating in a surprise operation at the Perpignan-Sud toll booth, where a filter barrier was installed. The operation consists of checking the fruits and vegetables imported from Morocco, particularly tomatoes. Several trucks were thus scanned. The cargo of cherry tomatoes from one of the trucks was partially unloaded onto the road. The operation did not stop at the Perpignan-Sud toll booth. The French producers toured the aisles of a nearby supermarket.

At the origin of this operation, a "unfair competition" favored by the trade agreements between France and Morocco, denounce the French vegetable producers. "There are nearly 500,000 tons of Moroccan tomatoes arriving in Europe each year with almost no customs duties," laments Ronan Collet, head of the vegetable section at the FDSEA 35. In Morocco, the cost of labor is 14 times lower than in France: we cannot be competitive."

The farmers also criticize the Moroccan tomatoes for a labeling problem. "The Moroccan origin is really written in very small print and it misleads the consumer," regrets Antoine Collet, a market gardener near Nantes. "The rest of the packaging is also very Frenchified."

Reacting to this surprise operation, Youssef Alaoui, Secretary General of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (Comader), points out that the Moroccan tomato has become a "scapegoat" in the French agricultural crisis. "Moroccan products of any kind respect all the standards, whether sanitary or labeling, as do the French products exported to Morocco," he assures France Bleu Roussillon, also calling for respect of the trade agreements between Morocco and France. "Let’s respect our trade agreements. The trade balance is heavily in favor of France anyway. France does not produce tomatoes year-round and the demand is there. If Moroccan tomatoes were no longer to arrive on the French market, greenhouses would have to be set up and heated, which would have a significant environmental cost and would have an impact on prices," explains the Moroccan official. And to add: "Moreover, the Moroccan export companies provide hundreds of logistics jobs at the Saint-Charles site in Perpignan. This is not to be overlooked."