Uncontrolled growth of imports from Morocco together with the EU’s Farm to Fork food strategy is putting tomato production in southern Europe at risk, claims a group representing growers from that region.
According to the Tomato Contact Group, which speaks for the industry in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, imports from Morocco into the EU have increased by more than 50%, to 557,225 tons last year, since the Association Agreement between it and the EU came into force in 2013. The 2022 import figure stood at 701,541 tons if the UK is included.
Following its meeting in France in May, the group said loss of competitiveness of EU production is most clearly observed in the British market. UK imports of Spanish tomatoes more than halved, from 143,182 tons to 70,780 tons, between 2013 and 2022.It wants the EU to roll back new rules on crop protection and packaging reduction which it says will damage EU tomato production and sales. For instance, the proposed ban on single-use packaging for less than 1.5kg of fresh fruit and vegetables makes it difficult to differentiate EU-grown fruit from imported.
It also plans to ask for ‘extraordinary’ aid from the EC of up to 10% of the value of the marketed tomato production of producer organisations as compensation for the harm being caused by application of the trade agreement.