Morocco tomato exports face EU pesticide rules and market collapse

The break is brutal on international markets. As of April 30, 2026, the global volume of foreign sales capped out at 549,000 tonnes, marking a clear 11% decline year-over-year. This slump spares no strategic outlet. The European continent is experiencing a 12% drop, while the Gulf region is collapsing dramatically with a 46% plunge. Classic varieties, known as round tomatoes, are the hardest hit, massively disappearing from shelves in the Middle East and Europe.

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Recently gathered in Agadir at a major summit bringing together six hundred participants from twenty-five countries, industry professionals explain this string of setbacks. According to the daily L’Economiste, farmers are bearing the full brunt of weather’s whims, between extreme drought, heat waves and torrential rains, coupled with the ravages of the dreaded ToBRFV virus. To this health pressure is added a surge in energy and labor costs, not to mention serious logistics weaknesses. The acute shortage of refrigerated containers and ultra-dependence on trucks constantly threaten the cold chain.

This delicate situation is paralyzing an exceptionally dynamic momentum. Between 2021 and 2025, the value generated by these exports rose from 856 million to nearly 1.4 billion dollars. An impressive annual growth of 11% that had allowed the kingdom to far outpace the progress of its Mexican and Dutch rivals. The country had thus secured its place as the third largest exporting power on the planet, capturing more than 11% of the global market.

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Europe remains the true lifeblood of this industry, consuming 93% of the merchandise. The kingdom stands as the second supplier to the European Union and the United Kingdom. But this privileged access risks hitting a new regulatory wall. The upcoming continental regulations, imposing drastic restrictions on pesticides and establishing an unprecedented carbon adjustment mechanism, threaten to further erode the competitiveness of the Moroccan sector if it does not adapt quickly.