The Spanish COAG (Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Agricultores y Ganaderos) has announced its intention to take legal action against importers of Moroccan tomatoes. According to this organization, Morocco has exceeded, since 2019, the duty-free import quotas for tomatoes established by the free trade agreement with the European Union.
COAG, the main Spanish farmers’ organization, has just announced that it intends to take legal action against Moroccan tomato importers for tax evasion. Since 2019, the organization estimates, Morocco has exceeded the duty-free import limit for tomatoes set in the free trade agreement with the European Union by around 230,000 tonnes per year.
Accusations of tax fraud
The head of the fruit and vegetables sector within COAG, Andres Gongora, affirmed during a webinar that Morocco would have exceeded the annual quota of 285,000 tonnes of tomatoes exempt from customs duties. This excess would have reached 230,000 tonnes per year, resulting, according to him, in fiscal damage for the EU estimated at 71.7 million euros over the last four agricultural seasons.
According to calculations by this Spanish farmers’ organization, uncollected customs duties would amount to around 14 million euros per year, based on a minimum price of 0.46 euros per kilo. “Even with conservative estimates, importing companies would have had to pay more than 71 million euros in customs duties”said Gongora.
Repeated campaigns against Moroccan agricultural imports
This announcement from COAG is not surprising, since it is part of a series of actions carried out by Spanish agricultural organizations to limit Moroccan imports of fruits and vegetables. Among these actions, demonstrations, like those organized in Algeciras, to denounce the impacts of Moroccan imports on the competitiveness of local farmers or even acts of violence by attacking Moroccan goods trucks.
-Furthermore, media campaigns and repeated statements from these organizations attempt to portray Moroccan agricultural products as non-compliant with European standards, despite the absence of tangible evidence.
This strategy, aimed at curbing trade, comes as Moroccan exports continue to grow. In October 2024, imports of Moroccan fruits and vegetables increased by 31.8% compared to the previous year, reaching 65.9 million euros in one month. These figures raise concerns among Spanish farmers, who denounce increased pressure on their competitiveness.
A debate around competitiveness
Thanks to its competitive production costs, Morocco has established itself as a major supplier of fruits and vegetables in Europe. This position gives rise to recurring criticism, sometimes amplified by targeted media campaigns.
However, Moroccan agricultural products remain a popular choice on the European market, both for their quality and for their compliance with regulations. For Morocco, the legal actions taken and the alarmist speeches of Spanish organizations appear more like an attempt at protectionism in the face of legitimate and fair competition.
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