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Rabat – Stakeholders in Spanish agriculture market have expressed concerns over what they perceive as a fierce competition with agricultural products imported from Morocco.
Spanish producer-exporter association (FEPEX) said Spain’s imports of fresh fruit and vegetables exceeded over 3.5 million tons. The number shows that Spanish import of fruit and vegetables increased to 35% in the last five years.
Imports from Morocco represent 81%, FEPEX said, highlighting that such a trend will discourage local production.
FEPEX warned Spain’s Agriculture Commission of Congress against the law of the Food Chain. The association said that such a law can “encourage the growth of imports in the fruit and vegetable sector.”
FEPEX’s director Jose Maria Pozancos shared data indicating that exports represent 65% of turnover in Spain.
“The conditions of competition in foreign market are decisive and these conditions are leading to a continuous increase and constant imports,” the director warned.
Read also: Moroccans Remain Largest Diaspora of Foreign Workers in Spain
The FEPEX director criticized the law, saying that it does not contemplate the situations created in globalized markets.
The Moroccan market continues to take the lead in EU state members.
Morocco often positions itself as Spain’s largest non-EU fruit and vegetables supplier.
In September 2020, FEPEX said Morocco’s imports of fruits and vegetables amounted to €548 million during the first half of last year. The number represents 18% compared to the same period in 2019.
The figures also represent almost half (47%) of Spain’s total imports from third countries, according to statistics from FEPEX.
The Spanish association has repeatedly identified Morocco as a“leading supplier to the Spanish market” for fruits and vegetables.
Morocco supplied 33% of Spain’s fruit and vegetable purchases in the first half of 2020.
