The Secretary-General of Agriculture and Food, Fernando Miranda, stated that the Government of Spain had asked the European Commission to make sure Morocco complies with the terms of their trade agreement.
Last week the Interprofessional Organization of Fruits and Vegetables of Andalusia (Hortyfruta) warned of a severe alteration of the European tomato market caused by an oversupply due to the uncontrolled entry of tomatoes from third countries into the EU. It also demanded a real vigilance of the quotas and greater control on entry prices, in particular, of the Moroccan tomato.
Miranda, who spoke with journalists in Seville, recalled Hortyfruta's warnings when speaking about the low prices tomato farmers in Almeria were being paid and the influence of Moroccan imports. According to Miranda, Almeria has also been affected by the weather. The region went from a hot November, in which they accumulated production, to a very cold January due to storm Filomena, in which producers had transport logistics issues that made it difficult to move the product.
In addition, the sector in Almeria also needs to modernize and make its greenhouse horticultural production more efficient, he said. To achieve this, he added, the Government is working on a 122 million euro investment plan for greenhouses to improve their competitiveness.
Source: europapress.es
