Morocco tomato exports surge, Spain loses market share

Moroccan tomatoes are gaining ground and Spain is watching with concern. According to El Debate, Spanish tomato exports have declined by more than 320,000 tonnes in ten years, while Morocco’s have increased by approximately 180,000 tonnes.

On Bladi.net : Morocco’s Tomato Dominance Crushes Spanish Farmers: EU Imports Soar 269%

The figures cited by the Spanish media, from Comtrade, the United Nations statistical database, show a clear shift. Morocco went from 524,907 tonnes of tomatoes exported in 2016 to 707,621 tonnes in 2025, an increase of 34.81%.

Spain followed the opposite trajectory. Its exports fell from 910,663 tonnes in 2016 to 581,361 tonnes in 2025, a decline of 36.16%. The decline particularly affects Almería, Spain’s main tomato production basin, whose volumes dropped from 538,111 to 392,362 tonnes.

A shift that worries Spain

For the Spanish press, this development illustrates a change in order on the global tomato market. Spain, long close to the Netherlands in this sector, now finds itself outpaced by the Dutch leader and surpassed by Morocco in export volume.

El Debate highlights the cost gap between the two sides of the Mediterranean. The Spanish media estimates that Moroccan producers benefit from lower costs, particularly in labor, which allows them to offer more competitive prices on European markets.

In 2025, exported Moroccan tomatoes sold for an average of 1.64 euros per kilo, compared to 1.81 euros for Spanish tomatoes and 1.92 euros for Dutch tomatoes. The gap therefore remains favorable to Morocco, even though Spanish prices have increased significantly since 2016.

For Spanish farmers, this competition has become a sensitive issue. They regularly denounce the differences in standards between the European Union and third countries, accused of being able to produce more cheaply while accessing the same markets.

On Bladi.net : European Tomato Industry Struggles as Moroccan Exports Surge

For Morocco, these figures confirm instead the rise of an agricultural sector focused on exports. Moroccan tomato is no longer just a competitor to Spain: it has become one of the symbols of Spanish decline in a market long dominated by its producers.