Spanish Poultry Farmers Protest EU Decision to Allow Moroccan Chicken Imports

Eloy Ureña, a poultry farmer in Fayón (Zaragoza) for 30 years, is not in favor of the import of Moroccan poultry into the European market, decided on June 30 by the European Commission in its regulation 2022/1040. Like him, many Spanish poultry farmers say they do not understand this decision, which could jeopardize the viability of 5,000 farms in Spain.

"Moroccan chicken is more expensive than Spanish. Currently, a kilo of chicken costs an average of 3.24 euros in Spain and 4.10 euros in Morocco," explains Eloy, head of the poultry sector of the association of agricultural and livestock organizations (COAG) to El Español. And he adds: "Morocco can import chicken from third countries like Brazil, whose chicken is cheaper than in Spain, and then export it to the EU. However, these chickens from third countries do not meet the health conditions."

Thus, the poultry that will be exported from Morocco may not be Moroccan. The situation worries other poultry farmers like Loli García, who fears that "if the chicken imported from Morocco is cheaper than the one from Spain, it will deeply affect Spanish breeders who were already suffering from the rise in production costs."

EU experts had carried out control visits to Morocco in March and September 2017, and concluded that the kingdom "did not fully meet the conditions for a health certification for export to the EU." "Five years is short enough to make major changes that allow adequate health control of chickens in Morocco," says Eloy Ureña. However, the European Commission assures that Morocco "has provided guarantees regarding compliance with the applicable animal health requirements of the Union, or equivalent requirements."