Moroccan Agriculture Leader Invites French Farmers to Invest, Disputes Export Claims

"To my knowledge, there is no seasonality in the agreement. There are exchanges and an agreement that provides that from a certain tonnage, customs duties apply to the productions, and like any other country. No agreement, nor any other decision, blocks the export of tomatoes, just as no agreement blocks the imports of wheat that we carry out all year round," explained Rachid Benali in an interview with franceinfo on the sidelines of Morocco’s participation in the International Agricultural Show. He believes "that we have focused too much on the tomato. There are other exchanges between France and Morocco."

According to some people, Morocco has been exporting too many cherry tomatoes to Europe since 2018 - about 150,000 tons each year - when the agreement only concerned the so-called "classic" tomato. The president of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development acknowledges "that we have multiplied these exports by two and a half. But we could say the same thing about wheat imports. Morocco continues to be a demander, and a demander of other products, with the issue of climate change behind it. In France, whether for milk or meat, you have enormous potential. It is a potential that we must take advantage of." What matters to him is "to really develop exchanges."

However, Benali rules out the signing of a new agreement between the two countries. "No, no change in the agreement. The Committee (which brings together the French and Moroccan sectors, ed.) will simply meet to make decisions, implement the usual procedures, but there are no planned renegotiations of agreements, far from it. These are simply discussions that will allow better formalization of exchanges and partnerships." Even the actions of the Coordination rurale, a right-wing organization bringing together French farmers, against Moroccan tomatoes do not dampen Benali’s optimism. "I see the future in pink. There is enormous potential, and climate change that affects us all."

"These climate changes, we must transform them into more and not less," he estimated. "Because we are talking about the tomato today, but if we certainly have climatic conditions that allow us to have better yields in its production, on the French side, it is the same with wheat again." Benali also extended a hand to French farmers: "This is what I tell the farmers: come invest in Morocco, we can all work together. We really have to share with the French."