Brussels, 07/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - “We are talking about Moroccan tomatoes again”, the European delegation in Rabat reports. The issue is therefore making a come back although it should have been settled in 2012 when the revised agricultural agreement was signed.
Concern is again being expressed - and not without controversy - by European (mainly Spanish) producers, who say they note “the failure” of this agreement and that they are again in a situation of increased competition, resulting in a 15% decrease in their revenue.
Spanish specialist media report that in an initiative taken at the Spanish ministry of agriculture, food and the environment on Wednesday 6 May, the Spanish federation of associations of producers and exporters of fruit, vegetables, flowers and live plants (FEPEX), the agri-food cooperatives and agricultural organisations ASAJA, COAG and UPA “warned against the loss of profitability” due to Moroccan sales and also due to the context of the Russian embargo. Prices are “too low”, these organisations believe. The Spanish parliament is reportedly already dealing with the case, and a meeting between the EU and Morocco took place in Brussels two weeks ago to assess the situation.
According to Marta Moya Diaz, who is in charge of the issue in Rabat, the EU's analysis of the situation is that there was “a 21.5% increase compared with the previous year” in sales of Moroccan agricultural produce. She notes that “since 2012 [the date when the revised agricultural agreement came into force] and despite the question of the new customs clearance system being addressed last year, agricultural and agri-food trade between the EU and Morocco has continued to increase, reaching a total of €2.8 billion in 2014”. Moya Diaz says that this increased trade will also favour “the bilateral agricultural agreement (which) provides for arrangements for an agreement on mutual protection of geographical indications (GI)”. It “will enable production to be evaluated and quality in Morocco to be improved, and will enable the protection of Moroccan GI to be guaranteed in the EU (for example, argan oil or Berkane clementines) and, reciprocally, will enable EU denominations to be protected in Morocco”. This is an “evolving agreement, with regular update mechanisms”. The agreement is not yet in force. It is “now with the legal service” before being ratified on the legislative level, Moya Diaz states.
In her opinion, there is no fly in the ointment: “The EU continues to support Morocco in the development of its agricultural sector, especially with a programme that supports the Green Morocco Plan”. (Fathi B'Chir)