Spanish Farmers Attack Moroccan Trucks in Andalucia

Rabat – A group of Spanish farmers stopped Moroccan trucks transporting fruits and vegetables near the city of Caen, Andalucia, on the morning of February 25.

A Facebook video, posted on the morning of the incident, shows the Spanish farmers opening the vehicles and destroying the products in the middle of the road.

Meanwhile, some of the Moroccan trucks were on fire.

The footage shows Spanish farmers wearing yellow jackets and carrying Spanish flags.

The Moroccan transport trucks were heading to the north of Spain, carrying Moroccan products from farms in the Agadir region.

President of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Production and Export (FIFEL), Lahoucine Aderdour, addressed a letter to the Moroccan government, condemning the attack.

Aderdour called it a “criminal act” and urged the Moroccan government to intervene in order to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The attack came after Spanish farmers went on strike in the month of January. The strikes came to protest the imbalance in the prices of the agri-food chain in the market. The farmers believe that the imbalance is caused by Moroccan competition.

“It is urgent to take support measures in the face of the attacks we are suffering,” explained ASAJA, COAG, and UPA, the three Spanish agricultural organizations, in a statement to the Spanish government in January, referring to the competition in the market.

According to a 2018 report by the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX), Morocco’s exports of Fruits and vegetables to Spain amounted to 36% that year.

Moroccan exports also represent 25% of the total Spanish imports of the same year, the FEPEX announced.

In terms of financial revenues, Morocco’s exports of fruits and vegetables to Spain in 2018 amounted to €507 million.