Morocco Considers Legal Action Against French Farmers Over Export Vandalism

According to European media, the Coordination Rurale, a right-wing organization bringing together French farmers, "exploits" the International Agricultural Show, which is being held from February 22 to March 2 in Paris, to get its message across on the need to "oppose Moroccan tomatoes and put an end to the agreement between the European Union and Morocco". This irritates Rachid Benali, president of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (COMADER). "Just as the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development has brought legal action against Spanish farmers who have vandalized Moroccan tomato exports, it will do the same in the face of any other attack. This is what we can do, after all," he said in a statement to Hespress.

The Confederation had initiated legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the acts of vandalism targeting Moroccan tomatoes. "This legal action has borne fruit, since the public prosecutor there has ordered the cessation of these practices, and now Moroccan trucks transporting exported agricultural products are crossing without any problem," Benali said, specifying that the persons concerned remain prosecuted in court. Moreover, the Coordination of Spanish Farmers and Livestock Organizations (COAG) has "recently filed a complaint against Morocco, accusing it of exceeding the annual quota of tomatoes exempt from customs duties of around 230,000 tons per year, which would cause an annual loss of 14 million euros to Spain," report European media