FEPEX welcomes the Court of Justice of the European Union's ruling ratifying the ruling of the General Court of 2021 that annulled part of the agricultural agreement between the EU and Morocco; specifically the part that extended to Western Sahara the concessions granted to Morocco under the Association Agreement. The ruling should entail the definitive exclusion of Saharan productions from the tariff benefits granted to Moroccan products and establish identification and control measures for these productions.
The ruling legitimizes the Frente Polisario in the appeals filed against the two agreements with Morocco (agricultural and fisheries) and considers that there was no consent from the Saharawi people to include their territory and products in the agreements. This means the Court recognizes that products grown in the Sahara are being marketed as Moroccan, as FEPEX has denounced on multiple occasions, having a very negative impact on the prices of very socially and economically sensitive products in Spain, such as tomatoes and berries.
The EU Association Agreement with Morocco has boosted Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the EU and Spain. EU tomato imports from Morocco have grown by 42% in the last ten years, from 345,416 tons in 2014 to 491,908 tons in 2023 (compared to a preferential quota of 285,000 tons). At the same time, Spanish tomato exports to the EU have fallen by 43%, from 786,598 tons in 2014 to 448,004 tons in 2023, according to Eurostat data.
According to Customs data processed by FEPEX, Spanish fruit and vegetable imports from Morocco have grown by 224%, from 135,000 tons worth 123 million euros in 2012 (the year the agreement entered into force) to 438,000 tons worth 899 million euros in 2023.
FEPEX values the ruling known today very positively because it means that the fruit and vegetable productions of Western Sahara, which constitute an increasing part of Moroccan exports to the EU, are excluded from the tariff concessions made within the framework of the Association Agreement between the EU and Morocco. These concessions allow Moroccan productions to access the Community market in conditions that generate unfair competition to Community producers, an issue that will be addressed at the FEPEX meeting with the Association of Tomato Producers Organizations of France, next Tuesday, in Madrid.
For more information: www.fepex.es