Spanish Farmers Urge EU to Curb Fruit Imports from Morocco, Other Nations

Faced with the "significant losses" suffered by Andalusian farmers due to the "massive imports of products from third countries, particularly Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey," the UPA is demanding urgent and "more forceful" solutions. In a statement signed by its Deputy Secretary General for Agriculture, Francisco Moscoso, he expressed his concern at the high import of tomatoes, watermelons and summer fruits from these countries onto the European market.

This situation "negatively affects prices and the cultivated area of Andalusia and leads to unfair competition," he assures. That is why the deputy secretary of the organization is asking the Ministry of Agriculture to "put pressure" on the European Union to revise trade agreements with these third countries. "If nothing is done, the small and medium-sized family farms in Andalusia will disappear," he warns.

According to the UPA, the import of fruits and vegetables from Morocco or Turkey has increased by more than 5% in the first half of this year. Over the past five years, "imports from Morocco have gone from 26 to 39% and have increased by 132% for watermelons," the customs department data shows.

In view of these findings, Moscoso is asking the Ministry of Agriculture to convince Brussels to apply the principle of community preference and revise the quotas in order to reduce imports from third countries, including Morocco.