Brussels, 13/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and Morocco have reached an agreement on the import of Moroccan tomatoes for the next marketing year which begins in October 2001. This agreement should, at least provisionally, settle the problems linked to the exceeding of export quotas by Morocco which perturb the Community market and in particular affect Spanish producers and, to a lesser extent, Belgian and Dutch productions. So far, Morocco benefited from a quota of 150,000 tonnes of tomatoes that could enter the Community market without customs duties during the period from October to March and which were added to the 18,000 tonnes (also without customs duties but at a slightly higher entry price) for the rest of the year. The 150,000 tonnes were distributed on a monthly quota. The new agreement maintains a total volume of 168,000 tonnes but is distributed over a period, prolonged by two months, going from October to end-May. The 18,000 tonnes, which will now enter the EU territory under the same conditions as the remainder of the quota, will be distributed through the months of November (4000 t), December (2000 t), April (7500 t), and May (4500 t). This distribution seems to assure a certain balance between Spanish producers especially affected in November and December and Belgian and Dutch producers more sensitive to competition in April and May. As counterpart, the Moroccan authorities are committed to strictly respecting the monthly volumes as set. A long-term solution should be found in the framework of negotiations on the new protocol to the Association Agreement.