A leading Spanish fresh produce association has hailed as a “positive” development the decision by “a majority of MEPs” from the European Parliament’s agriculture committee to criticise the EU’s new agreement of association with Morocco.
Asaja Murcia has welcomed the reaction of the committee to the trade deal, which it claims would deliver a “hard blow” to Murcian agriculture if it is ratified by the parliament later this year, as it would give Moroccan exporters substantially greater access to the EU market.
Following the agriculture committee’s criticisms, the association has renewed its call for MEPs to vote against the agreement, which it claims would “seriously prejudice the interests of Murcian and Spanish producers”.
In a statement, Asaja Murcia’s general secretary, Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, claimed that Murcia and especially tomato producers in the Spanish region would be particularly damaged by the accord.
“Producers fear they will loose competitiveness in EU markets as Moroccan products are more affordable economically at the cost of not complying with phytosanitary regulations, among other things,” he claimed.
If ratified, the new agreement of association will increase the export quota for Moroccan tomatoes to the Europe from the current 233,000 tonnes to 285,000 tonnes with the next five seasons.
