Producers from Légumes de France staged protests at retailers in multiple cities last week, while Fepex argues growing tomato imports are causing a decline in EU production and price crises
Last week, French tomato producers belonging to Légumes de France, the national vegetable association, organised protests at supermarkets in various cities following the recent increase in tomato imports from Morocco.
Imports of Moroccan tomatoes by France rose in volume by 7.6 per cent in 2022/23 compared with the previous campaign, totalling 424,690 tonnes at a value of €168m (up 27.5 per cent).
The producers railed at the growing competition from Moroccan tomatoes, which they said benefitted from a lack of tariff controls and lower wages in Morocco, and demanded clearer labelling of the origin of imports.
Spanish fresh produce federation Fepex said that the strong increase in imports into the EU, which have grown by 42 per cent in the last decade, was leading to a drop in EU production and contributing to price crises.
“For this reason, the sectors of the three countries consider it necessary, among other measures, for the European Commission to apply the mechanisms that exist in the Association Agreement with Morocco to avoid these disturbances in the market and that these are safeguard measures,” Fepex stated.
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