French and Spanish farmers joined forces to organize a blockade on Monday, June 3. During this protest action, they set themselves up on the French-Spanish border to protest against what they consider to be unfair trade practices from Moroccan fruit and vegetable producers. French and Spanish farmers are calling for full harmonization of European agricultural policy, while denouncing low production costs in Morocco. Denying these allegations, the Secretary General of Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture (COMADER) Youssef Alaoui told France Info that Moroccan produce comply with European health standards. «Otherwise, you won't find Moroccan tomatoes in the French markets (...). There are control bodies for fraud prevention, and I'd also like to come back to the labelling of origin, which does indeed mention Morocco as the origin», he declared in an interview with a French newspaper. The unionist added: «We, as farmers, do not accept that standardized European products with the Morocco label should be blocked». Regarding the price differences between Moroccan and French tomatoes, he explains that constant sunshine and modern infrastructures, such as the desalination plant in the Agadir region, enable Morocco to produce tomatoes at a lower cost, all year round. «We have permanent sunshine, which really makes all the difference», he argued, before adding that producing tomatoes in winter in France would require heated greenhouses, which consume a lot of energy and therefore pollute the environment. Youssef Alaoui points out that Morocco has a minimum wage and social security cover in line with its standards of living. He also refutes the idea of generalizing Moroccan working conditions to the whole of Europe, calling it a «false debate». He further underlined France's privileged status, which enjoys a surplus trade balance with Morocco, thanks in particular to wheat and cheese exports. Thus, the excessive attention paid to cherry tomatoes is merely a diversionary tactic: «I have the impression that cherry tomatoes are a cover-up for all the problems facing French agriculture», concludes Youssef Alaoui. European competition in the tomato market The tensions between Moroccan and European tomato growers, particularly Spanish and French, can be explained by the changing dynamics of the European market. Historically dominated by Spanish producers, the EU tomato market has seen a rise in Moroccan exports. In 2015, Spanish sales exceeded those of Morocco by 109%, but this difference was reduced to 17% in 2023. In the first quarter of this year, Morocco even outstripped Spain, exporting 19% more tomatoes. These changes have raised concerns among European producers, who perceive Moroccan tomatoes as a threat due to their lower production costs. Despite the competitive advantages of climate and infrastructure, European farmers accuse their Moroccan counterparts of unfair competition, exacerbating trade tensions and leading to protests, as witnessed by the May 16 event. COMADER had already responded to the French farmer protesters in a press release, stating that it reserved «the right to defend the legitimate interests of Moroccan exporters».
