European tomato group opposes new agreement on the Sahara

The tomato contact group from France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, which met on February 10 and 11 in Torres Vedras (Portugal), analyzed, as one of the main items on the agenda, the EU-Morocco agreement and the future of European tomato trade. At the heart of the debate was the need for a single market in which the conditions of competition are the same for all operators, including those from outside the EU. This is vital for the maintenance of the EU production sector.

Labor and health disparities

The disparity between the phytosanitary, labor, and social standards required by EC regulations for EU producers, which are not required in third countries of origin for imports, causes unfair competition and makes producers in Member States increasingly less competitive, according to the Spanish delegation leaders who participated in the meeting.

Up to 13,000 hectares of tomatoes in the Sahara

Along the same lines, they stressed that the agreement between the EU and Morocco has already caused serious damage to the Spanish sector, displacing it as the EU's leading tomato supplier. This damage will be exacerbated by the amendment to the Association Agreement on October 2, as it will allow Saharan production to benefit from the trade advantages granted to Moroccan production, while production in this area is expected to increase by 1000%, reaching 13,000 hectares of production by 2030, and bearing in mind that 85% of this production is destined for the EU.

For more information on the positions of the European tomato group, please write here.