Moroccan Watermelons Flood Spanish Market, Driving Down Prices

According to the study, watermelon imports into Spain have almost tripled in the last five years, from 10,572 tons in 2014 to 88,603 tons last year. In 2020, Moroccan watermelons accounted for 81% of total imported watermelons, followed far behind by those from Senegal (10%) and Brazil (1.8%). The entry of this product into the European Union has been liberalized by trade agreements between the EU and Morocco, which Andrés Góngora, head of the fruit and vegetable sector at COAG, denounces.

"The competition from third countries is unbearable due to production conditions very far from the strict European standards in terms of food safety, environmental protection and social rights of workers," he added.

This is why at the beginning of the campaign, COAG asked the purchasing centers to prefer the national product in order to avoid speculation. "It is false to say that the distribution chains must resort to imports because there is no product here. There are enough watermelons to supply the different markets," he specified.