EU-Morocco Deal Sparks Tomato Trade Turmoil, Spanish Farmers Cry Foul

Spanish producers fear increased Moroccan competition after the EU Commission’s decision to sign a new trade agreement with Morocco allowing the import of crops from the Moroccan Sahara into the European Union at the same customs tariffs as Moroccan products. A measure that circumvents the two rulings handed down in October 2024 by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which had declared the agreement null and void on the grounds that it had been concluded without the consent of the Sahrawi people, recalls El Economista.

Over the past ten years, Spanish tomato production has fallen by 50%, while Morocco’s has more than doubled. With this new Morocco-EU agreement, Moroccan competition is likely to be fiercer, warn Spanish producers. During the 2024-2025 season, Morocco exported 745,000 tons of tomatoes to the European Union, worth nearly $1.2 billion. The kingdom is establishing itself as the third largest exporter of tomatoes in the world, behind Mexico and the Netherlands. France and the United Kingdom are the main destinations for Moroccan exports. But in recent years, the kingdom has supplied tomatoes to Belgium, Sweden, Ireland or Finland.

Faced with fierce competition from Morocco, Spanish producers are gradually abandoning tomato cultivation in favor of other products such as cucumber or zucchini. They are calling for the suspension of the new EU-Morocco agreement to continue producing tomatoes. Failing that, they are demanding that Moroccan producers be subject to the same European requirements, both in terms of plant health and working conditions.