Spanish Strawberry Industry Faces Challenges from Moroccan Imports and European Economic Pressures

There will be no significant change in terms of the strawberry production rate in Huelva, "as long as the weather conditions do not change," said Rafael Domínguez, the director of the association, noting a 2% increase between the area sown this year which is 6,295 hectares and the 6,167 hectares of last year.

Domínguez also stressed that what "may worry the most" regarding sales in this campaign is that "we note that purchasing power in Europe is also decreasing compared to last season, due to the rise in the CPI" which "affects the recipient countries of red fruits from Huelva such as Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and others", which could "lead to less purchases", as well as "the rise in costs" suffered by the sector.

Dominguez also deplored the "bad" raspberry campaign in the fall due to the "unfair and fierce competition from Morocco" which flooded the European market with its "cheaper" products. "We are concerned because there is no solution to this problem. They compete with us in a market where the conditions and production costs of the fruits are not the same. We are not on an equal footing," he lamented.

The official has asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to review the export conditions of Moroccan products so that "from a certain tonnage, they pay customs duties", because currently, "they do not pay any duty on raspberries" while Morocco "is not a member of the EU. "Every year is worse than the previous one," he denounces.