Morocco sells nearly twice as many tomatoes as Spain to the UK at 90 cents less per kilo
The UK tomato market has changed dramatically over the past decade. Spain, once the leading supplier, is now in third place behind the Netherlands and Morocco. In the latest season, Morocco consolidated its lead over its Spanish neighbour, with average import prices significantly lower.
Between September 2025 and August 2026, the United Kingdom imported 122.89 million kilos of tomatoes from Morocco, compared with 63.05 million kilos from Spain. The gap between the two countries was nearly 60 million kilos, according to a study published on October 28 by Hortoinfo, based on United Nations Comtrade trade statistics.
The average import price marks another difference: 1.54 euros per kilo for Moroccan tomatoes, compared with 2.44 euros for Spanish ones. That 90-cent gap is reflected in the total value of trade. Despite exporting nearly twice the volume, Morocco generated 188.94 million euros in sales, compared with Spain’s 154.11 million, just 22.6% more.
Morocco now supplies 31.42% of the tomatoes imported by the United Kingdom, compared with 16.12% for Spain. The Netherlands remains in first place with 162.95 million kilos, or 41.67% of the market. Morocco would need to supply around 40 million more kilos to match Dutch volumes.
Twenty years ago, Spain dominated the market
The turnaround came in 2021, when Morocco overtook Spain for the first time among the United Kingdom’s tomato suppliers. Since then, Morocco has held second place. It even moved ahead of the Netherlands in 2022, before the Dutch regained the lead.
Spain’s decline has been considerable. In 2005, Spain shipped 182.68 million kilos to the UK market, compared with just 1.4 million kilos from Morocco. According to a historical analysis by Hortoinfo, Moroccan volumes increased nearly 98-fold between 2005 and 2024.
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Behind the top three suppliers, Belgium ranks fourth with 27.66 million kilos, followed by Italy with 5.62 million. The Netherlands, Morocco and Spain together account for nearly 90% of the UK’s tomato imports.
The World Bank’s trade statistics confirm this ranking for calendar year 2025: 126.2 million kilos imported from Morocco, compared with 64.4 million from Spain.
