A total of 375,000 tonnes of tomatoes worth €621mn were exported last season
The province of Almería exported 375,000 tonnes of tomatoes worth €621mn in 2024/25, an increase of 5.4 per cent in volume and 9.26 per cent in value compared to the previous season. Average prices increased by 12 per cent to €0.90 per kg, and returns paid to growers reached €730mn, just over 8 per cent higher than in the previous season.
However, despite the improvement, the Andalusian minister of agriculture, fisheries, water, and rural development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, warned that tomatoes are among the products most likely to be affected by recent changes to the EU-Morocco trade deal allowing produce from Western Sahara to benefit from the tariff advantages included in the agreement.
During a visit to the San Isidro Agricultural Cooperative (Casi), Fernández-Pacheco said the Andalusian government had asked Spanish agriculture minister Lluis Planas to call for the European Commission to activate mechanisms to help specify that tomatoes originating in Western Sahara cannot be labelled as Moroccan.
He said the sector is very concerned about the potential impact of this issue on the marketing of Almería tomatoes and stressed the “even greater” need for control mechanisms and guarantees that ensure balanced trade conditions and common standards.
