The mass presence of Moroccan tomatoes on the European market, particularly in Spain, arouses the ” anger from Spanish farmers and exporters. Despite their efforts to promote and export local tomatoes, their Moroccan counterparts continue to “invade” them.
José María Pozancos, director of the Union of Fruits and Vegetables in Spain, expresses his concern about the “invasion” of Moroccan and Turkish tomatoes on the local market, stressing that Morocco is well ahead of Spain in this agricultural sector.
In a statement to the Spanish newspaper ” El Economista“, Pozancos points out that the government of Pedro Sánchez is not taking any measures to control this invasion of Moroccan tomatoes on the local market.
Spanish farmers, especially from the Canary Islands, are asking for the process to be stopped ” mass entry » Moroccan agricultural products, especially tomatoes, due to their high demand, but also their low price combined with high quality.
Economic expert Mehdi Lahlou notes that the potential presence of Moroccan tomatoes on European markets, particularly in Spain, raises many questions about the strategy adopted by Morocco to deal with local inflation.
In a statement to MoroccoLatestNewsLahlou points out that the domestic agricultural supply in Morocco is considerably low and that the abundant presence of tomatoes and other Moroccan agricultural products in Spain and other European countries contradicts the statements of the Ministry of Agriculture that the products local agricultural products are destined for the national market.
The expert also confirms that the massive export of agricultural products, especially tomatoes, is the fundamental problem Moroccans face in their fight against high food prices, noting that many Moroccan producers are looking abroad and neglect local markets.
To conclude, Lahlou believes that the Spanish and Moroccan governments cannot intervene to stop the invasion of Moroccan tomatoes on domestic markets in Spain, although this is a source of concern for both countries.
It should, however, be recalled that the government imposed, in February, quotas on exports to all foreign destinations, with the aim of stimulating the local supply and bringing down the prices of tomatoes, which in February had reached prices varying between 13 and 15 dirhams per kilo.