EU: Moroccan agricultural products on the bench
Farmers’ protests in Europe continue unabated. After France, anger is spreading to Spain. A huge demonstration took place last Tuesday in the major cities. Armed with their tractors, farmers cut off the main roads to prevent the passage of trucks carrying fruit and vegetables, as reported by the Iberian media. This is the biggest day of protest in the country. Malaga, in Andalusia, Madrid, Seville, Girona in Catalonia… the protest, led by the Federation of Regional Unions «Unión de Uniones», is at its peak.
Thousands of farmers took to the streets, bearing slogans such as «Our end will be your hunger» and «Three cents in the countryside, three euros in the supermarket». The aim was to put pressure on the European Union Commission. The heavy security presence did not deter the farmers from continuing their demonstration.
The farmers are demanding an end to the «asphyxiation» of Spanish agriculture. They are opposed to European agricultural policy, which they consider too restrictive. Among other things, they call out draconian bureaucracy and unfair competition from third countries such as Morocco, Egypt and South America.
«The biggest problems are taxes and unfair competition from countries like Egypt and Morocco, which are ruining us», a farmer told the Europa Press agency. Farmers complain in particular about taxes on phytosanitary products (pesticides), described as too high.
The protest will continue over the next few days.
Accused of «unfair competition», Moroccan producers and exporters dismiss the accusations out of hand. «I think it is a case of populism», says an official in an association of Moroccan fruit and vegetable producers and exporters, in a statement to L’Economiste. He added: «We need to set the record straight. Morocco has a free-trade agreement with the European Union, and we respect it to the letter». This official gives the example of tomatoes. The official, who requested anonymity, points out that Morocco has an annual quota of 285,000 tons, which must not be exceeded between October 1 and the end of May. In 2022, the Kingdom exported 660,000 ton of tomatoes to Europe. «This is due to the fact that the rest of the quota was cleared through customs», he explains. Moroccan products are not their enemy, he adds. The problem, according to this official, lies in the price paid to farmers at the farm gate, which is well below the supermarket price.
Khadija Skalli
